Worthy
by JaninaM8
Summary: What happens when Jane manages to lift Thor's hammer? (eventual Lokane).
1. Chapter 1

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Loki scowled at the TV, specifically at some masked man they called Spider-Man talking to the Midgardian Press.

"Oh, shut your gob," Loki muttered and grabbed the remote next to him on Thor's couch. He changed the channel and on came what Jane Foster called those cardboard _things_ she consumed in the morning: his guilty pleasure. A _Gilmore Girls_ rerun was on. He supposed if he had to spend some time with Thor and Jane because he wasn't "trustworthy" and was considered a "threat" all because he'd once tried to take over the world, he could do worse than _Gilmore Girls_.

He heard the hum of the vacuum cleaner coming closer to Thor's Midgardian living room and he bit back the growl that was forming. The thing with _Gilmore Girls_ was that if you didn't pay close attention to their rapid fire conversation you missed so much.

Jane was now in the living room and he pressed on the volume until it sounded like Rory was shouting at her mother. Jane just looked at him. She knew the drill. This was what happened when she interfered with his television. At most they'd get a complaint from the neighbors, but it would be done in a meek kind of way. No one really felt they could complain if the God of Thunder who was also part of The Avengers (and owned the building thanks to Tony Stark), played the TV a little loud.

When Jane finished vacuuming, Loki slowly turned the TV down. He loved it when she would shoot him warning looks as she cleaned. The looks that said _I know you're taking your time turning the volume down, Loki._

There was something so satisfying about annoying Jane Foster. Probably because Thor just ignored him as a way to deal with him and Jane Foster still reacted. Every. Single. Time.

When she got to the coffee table, she sat down next to him and began tossing red Solo cups into a trash bag. Apparently Thor had had some of The Avengers over the night before and the place had gotten a little trashed. Just as Jane had been about to start cleaning, Thor had been asked to tend to a problem downstairs with one of the tenants in the building.

"You could help me," Jane said flatly.

"I could," Loki drawled. "But I won't."

"You're such a freeloader, Loki."

"If that means something derogatory I will be very upset with you, Jane."

"It means that you contribute absolutely nothing and mooch off Thor and I."

"Ah, well, yes, then I am a freeloader."

She let out that heavy sigh that was really a cross between a sigh and a growl. He heard her mutter something about Thor's stupid hammer as she cleaned around it and he smirked. "Have you ever tried to lift it?" he asked her.

"No, why would I do that? I already know I can't. I'm not 'worthy'. Have you?"

He had once. "No. I think you should try it."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Why not? Are you not a little curious to see if you could?"

"I've watched every single one of the Avengers attempt to lift it, Loki. I know I couldn't do it."

"I thought you were – what are those women called that yell at men in the street for opening doors for them?"

She was trying not to laugh now. He could tell because the ends of her mouth would begin to curl up and she'd bite her lip as if to stop herself from just letting the smile come. One day Loki was determined to get a full smile out of her.

"Feminists," she said. "I am one as well, Loki."

"But you don't yell at Thor."

"No, I only yell at you."

"But not for holding the door open for you."

"You never hold the door open for me."

"That's true," he said. "Try it. Come on, just try it once."

Her eyes narrowed and she turned to face him. "Care to make it interesting?"

His eyes narrowed as well. "How?"

"I'll try it, but only if you help me clean."

Loki shook his head. "Forget it. You won't be able to lift it anyway. I don't want you to try it _that_ much. I'm not about to do menial work when I know you won't be able to lift it."

She made that half sigh half growl sound again and continued cleaning. Loki got up and wandered into the kitchen to see if he could find something to snack on. He brightened when he saw the chocolate cake on the counter. He cut himself a hefty slice, poured some milk, and then hummed as he began to walk back into the living room.

As he passed through the doorway he found Jane with her hand wrapped around Thor's hammer. He expected to see her struggle as he did. To pull and pull and think maybe just maybe with one hard yank…

But no.

She just lifted it.

Then came the crash of thunder and lightning, striking her and Mjolnir. When all was clear, Jane still had Mjolnir in her hand. Her eyes were wide, her mouth dropped open, and her hair in disarray.

Loki dropped his milk and cake. Jane slowly looked at him, hearing the crash of plate and glass smashing together on the carpet. She glared at him and used Mjolnir to point at him. "You are so cleaning that up."

And then she looked down at the hammer and dropped it as though it was burning her hand. It broke the coffee table. Jane's hand shook, her whole body trembled really and she looked at Loki. "What did you do?"

He gaped at her. "What did _I_ do? What do you mean what did I do?"

"You're the sorcerer here, Loki, not me! You wanted me to pick it up so badly and I did. I just fucking picked it up. _What did you do_?"

Loki opened his mouth to answer her and then snapped it shut when he noticed the whirlwind swirling around Jane's knees and the couch cushions, remote, and plastic cups that were now levitating up in the air. "Jane," he said evenly. "I didn't do anything. I can't make you be able to lift Thor's hammer. No one can do that. It deemed you worthy."

"Who else has it deemed worthy?" she asked, her voice getting shrill.

"No one but Thor has ever been deemed worthy. Not even I can pick it up."

"Shocker. And you lied. You did try."

"Shocker. I lied, yes. It's what I do." He held up his hands. "Right now, Jane, I want you to look down."

She did and then gasped when she saw the whirlwind around her knees. Then she caught sight of a cup floating in the air around her. "Loki, what's going on?" She looked and sounded scared.

"I don't know, but it's part of you."

"What do you mean it's part of me?"

"The power that is causing that whirlwind and those objects to levitate. It's you doing it."

"How is that even possible?"

"Mjolnir did something to you."

The door banged open then and Thor came bounding into the room. He stopped abruptly when he saw Jane. He gaped at her and then went for Loki's throat. "What did you do to her?!" Thor roared and pinned Loki against the wall.

"Thor, no, it wasn't him!" Jane shouted. She looked down. The whirlwind was spreading wider and getting taller. Also, the fucking couch was beginning to lift off the floor.

"You did something and I want you to stop it!" Thor shouted.

"I'm not doing it you giant oaf!" Loki shouted back. "She lifted your hammer, Thor!"

Thor all but dropped Loki and turned to Jane. "What?"

She nodded. "I did. Loki dared me and I lifted it."

"But that's not possible," Thor said and moved closer to her. "I'm the only one that can wield it. I'm the one that's worthy."

"Not anymore," Loki said, sounding gleeful.

Thor stared at the hammer on the floor and looked at Jane. "What did you do?" he demanded. "How did you lift Mjolnir?"

"I just did," she said. "Are you mad? You look mad."

"You should not be lifting my hammer," Thor growled and stalked over to Mjolnir.

The wind around Jane picked up. Loki looked on, fascinated. It was up to her chest now. Both the TV and the couch were floating. The hum in the air from Jane's sudden power was addicting. It smelled like honeysuckle.

Thor lifted Mjolnir. "I am still its owner," he boasted. "Not you."

"Can you stop worrying about your worthiness for a minute and tell me what the hell is going on!" Jane shouted and that's when the whirlwind broke loose and lifted Thor in the air and flung him against the far wall.

He went through it.

The neighbor in the apartment he just went through screamed.

The couch, TV, and the other objects that were floating plummeted to the floor.

Loki took a step toward Jane, who looked positively wrung out, when a shimmering bright white and gold light coming from the balcony caught his eyes. "Jane," he said and pointed.

She looked. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but I mean to find out."

Jane looked at Thor who climbed through the Thor shaped hole in the wall and then out the window. Where did she go, where did she go…? Fuck it. She wanted to know what was outside. Loki hurried out and Jane followed.

She blocked her eyes from the light that seemed to come from the sun itself. There was a metallic hum in the air and then all at once the hum and the light ceased.

Loki gripped her hand. "Jane."

"I see it," she murmured. A sword stood – yes, stood – in the middle of the balcony. The tip was to the floor and the handle shimmered with threads of gold and silver. She had to put her hand on it. She had to hold it. That was all she could think as she moved forward slowly, reaching out, feeling waves of energy course through her the closer she got to the sword. She slipped her hand around the handle and closed her fingers around it one by one and then lifted. The sword was not as heavy as she'd thought it would be considering, well, sword. It felt balanced as Thor's hammer had. Most of all, it felt _right_.

Jane couldn't take her eyes off it. Energy pulsed through her hand, up her arm, and she looked frantically at Loki.

"What is it?" Loki asked.

"I feel energy coursing through me," she told him. "What's happening?"

"It's connecting to you," Loki told her. "Let it happen."

Her heart was racing and though she thought perhaps she should drop it and just walk away from it, she couldn't. This was hers. She knew it instinctively. A flash of bright gold and white light encompassed flashed and pushed Jane backwards.

 _I am yours. You are my keeper. I am your weapon. I am your shield._

She gaped at the sword. Did it _talk_?

She looked up at Loki and then Thor and they gasped. "What?" she asked, scared again. "What is it?"

"Your eyes," Loki said. "They glow like amber."

"What's happened to me?" she whispered.

"If I'm not mistaken," Loki said. "You've just been made into a Goddess."


	2. Chapter 2

**So, just an FYI, I fiddled with the events of TDW to fit this story and make Jane (even more) worthy. Thank you, Imogen74 for all your help!**

Shortly after Loki's declaration, Thor grabbed Jane and called for Heimdall. Jane knew the drill, but she wondered if she even needed to hold onto him since, well…

She held on anyway.

When they landed, Loki landed with them. Jane wasn't sure why she was relieved to see him, but she was. Heimdall bowed his head to her, but in true Heimdall fashion he gave nothing away.

Thor gripped Jane's hand. "Eir. We need to see Eir and my father."

He all but dragged her down the Rainbow Bridge and quite frankly, it was a tad annoying. She dug in her heels and yanked herself free from his grasp. Turned out she really didn't need to yank so hard because the instant she did she went stumbling back and landed on her rump. Her sword clattered beside her.

Loki held out his hand to her. "You're going to have enhanced strength, Jane."

"You think so?" she snapped. He dropped his hand and glared at her. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Loki. I'm just a little overwhelmed."

She got to her feet and looked at Thor. His expression was grim. He was angry with her; she knew it. "Let's go," he said and stared back down the bridge. Jane grabbed her sword and fought back the tears that threatened to come. She was confused and overwhelmed and didn't understand what was happening to her and instead of comforting her, Thor was pissed at her.

"He is possessive and protective of his hammer," Loki said softly. "He is worried as well."

"I'm sure," she retorted.

Loki said nothing, but he waited for her to start walking and then fell into step beside her. Once they reached the palace, Odin and Frigga were right there to greet them. Jane gripped her sword tighter and felt the air around her hum. Oh crap. Another whirlwind?

"Fascinating," she heard Loki murmur.

And then she saw it. Some kind of…force field. All around her, shaped like an egg around her body.

Loki reached out and touched it. She heard a sound like a zap and he drew his hand away and shook it off, scowling at her. "You've got yourself quite the protection shield."

She looked down at her sword. It said it protected her before…so that's what it was doing?

"Do you feel threatened, darling?" Loki asked with an amused grin. "By Odin and my mother?"

She drew in a deep breath to steady herself and the force field disappeared.

"So many things to discover about what you can do," Loki said. He sounded positively gleeful. Almost evilly so. Jane shot him a look. He grinned.

"I saw it happen," Frigga said, stepped forward. "Moments before it did."

Odin regarded Jane thoughtfully. Odin had never exactly been a fan of hers, and she hoped he didn't give her a hard time over something she had no control over. She also hoped that since Jane had ended up keeping Frigga from being killed by Malekith, he didn't give her too much of a hard time.

Frigga came forward, a soft smile on her face. "How do you feel, child?"

"Confused. Overwhelmed," Jane said and her voice shook. Frigga drew her into her arms and Jane let the dam break. She cried into the Goddess's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever are you sorry for, my dear?" Frigga asked gently. "The Norns have smiled upon you; they've given you a gift."

"It doesn't feel like a gift," Jane said and her gaze drifted to Thor. He looked less angry now. He actually looked ashamed. His gaze dropped when their eyes met and Jane cried a bit more. Had his hammer truly been more important to him than her?

"Eir is waiting for us," Odin said. He sounded completely done in his very Odin way, and so Jane pulled back from Frigga and pulled herself together best she could.

Frigga handed her a handkerchief and Jane smiled gratefully and wiped at her tears.

Thor still wouldn't walk with her. Jane wondered if perhaps she should fling him against – or rather through – another wall.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"You are correct in your assumptions," Eir said after a thorough "physical" of Jane. "Jane has been made immortal. She is…one of us."

Eir didn't seem exactly thrilled with that conclusion. Jane couldn't say she was exactly thrilled either, but she bristled at Eir's tone and frown. And also with the looks Thor and Odin shared. Loki just looked at her as though she was something intriguing he meant to pick apart. Frigga just beamed.

"You will be under our protection," Frigga announced. Odin made a sound of disagreement and Frigga just looked at him as if daring him to object. Odin backed down.

Jane bit back a smile. _Go Frigga_ , she thought.

"Loki will train you," Frigga said.

Loki frowned but said nothing. Thor, surprisingly, was the one that did not seem to like that. "If she's one of us now—"

"Which she clearly is," Frigga said.

"Then she should train with me. And the Warriors Three."

"You and the Warriors Three?" Loki said with a little laugh. "You who can barely even look upon Jane now that's she's lifted your hammer and sprouted powers. I can't imagine what your training would involve. Just various ways to humiliate her and if Sif had her way, eradicate Jane altogether. No, Mother is right, I will train her. Besides, her powers are closer to mine than yours. You can do nothing for her at this juncture."

"You go too far, brother," Thor said evenly.

"Perhaps, but I do not care," Loki said matter-of-factly. "At least when I push Jane to her limits and beyond I'll be up front about it."

"I already kind of figured that's how that would go," Jane mumbled drily.

"I would like to know why this has happened and to a mortal," Odin said.

"If I had to wager a guess," Frigga said, "I would say that not only did she protect me when Malekith struck by pushing me out of harm's way—"

"I did what anyone would do," Jane said.

"Not anyone," Loki muttered.

"And," Frigga continued, "she saved Thor in the battle against Malekith. She saved two of our people. I would say those are a strong case for why the Norns have bestowed this gift upon her."

"Why did you lift Mjolnir again, Jane Foster?" Odin asked.

She shrugged. "Loki dared me to."

"Of course," Odin said drily. He looked at Loki. "What did you do?"

"Why does everyone assume I did something?" Loki asked. They all just looked him. He rolled his eyes. "If I can't even lift the hammer with all my magick, how did you think I was able to enchant it for Jane to pick it up? Or for Jane to sprout powers?"

No one could really argue that logic. Loki was power hungry and he held a grudge against his father and Thor, if he could find a way to usurp Thor in any way, shape or form, he would take it. Jane's eyes narrowed, suspicious now. She had thought Loki had taken to the idea of training her a little too easily. She was not naive enough to think that he thought there might be something in it for him. But what?

With Thor acting like she'd done something wrong and not wanting anything to do with her all of a sudden (what happened to him telling the Avengers how amazing she was?), and with Odin being mistrustful of her (despite the fact that he had been ever so grateful when he'd learned she'd managed to protect Frigga), and Frigga almost ecstatic by this new development, Jane felt as though she was on an episode of Game of Thrones.

The lesson on _Game of Thrones_ was a simple one: trust no one.

And if there was anyone among this group she should mistrust more, it was Loki.

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Jane sat on what was now her bed in what was now her room and stared at the sword – her sword – as it lay across her lap. She felt attached to it even though she'd only had it in her possession for all of an hour. Now she was left alone in her room while Thor and Odin and possibly Frigga had a conference about what to do with her and Loki slunk off to his own rooms to possibly plot something nefarious.

She wondered about Erik and Darcy. About the Avengers. Someone close to them was bound to stumble upon the giant hole in their apartment and deduce that something had gone down in there. Especially since they were now all gone.

Her eyes welled up in tears at the thought that Erik and Darcy could think that she and Thor could be dead. Then she cried harder when she thought of how Thor had been acting since it happened. He'd been treating her like she'd betrayed him. How was her attempting to pick up his hammer any different from the rest of the Avengers trying to do the same?

Oh, wait. Because she'd managed to pick it up. And then had gotten slammed with a slew of powers and this sword.

She thought again of _Game of Thrones_. Of Arya and her sword and how she called it Needle. Jane smiled and stroked down the middle of the blade with the tips of her fingers. "Shall I call you Needle?"

She wiped at her tears hastily and then stood and gripped her sword in her right hand. She lifted it over her head and announced, "For the honor of Grayskull! I am She-Ra!" She laughed to herself and drew her sword back down. " _That's_ what I'll call you," she said. "She-Ra."

Jane moved She-Ra this way and that, pretending she knew what she was doing. Then she pointed it straight ahead of her and twirled it about –

Oh my.

A little whirlwind appeared at the tip of her sword. Jane stared it and it swirled and swirled. She moved her sword in circles again and the whirlwind grew bigger and bigger.

The door flew open and Loki barged in. He was clearly not happy. "What in the name of Valhalla are you doing?"

"Don't you knock?"

He didn't look just unhappy, he looked downright rattled. "I can feel you doing something in here."

"You can feel it?"

"Your magick…it sings."

"Can anyone else hear it?"

"I don't know, but all I know is that I can. It…calls to me."

She nodded to the tip of her sword. "Well, I'm doing something here. I'm just not sure what." She stopped twirling She-Ra around and frowned at Loki. "Loki, my arm is beginning to hurt, what do I do? I can't just keep my arm up all night and wait for this thing to dissipate."

He came closer, eyes narrowed thoughtfully and stood beside her. He stared at the whirlwind she'd created which was the size of his fist. "Try…directing it."

"How?"

"Put your sword—"

"She-Ra."

"Pardon?"

"I named her She-Ra."

"You named a powerful weapon She-Ra?"

"Can you give me shit about that later and just tell me what to do right now?"

"You're the one that interrupted me to tell me its ridiculous name," Loki pointed out.

"Loki!

"Put your sword in the middle of that whirlwind and focus your intention on sending it to the wall."

Jane pretended to understand what he was saying. _Intention, intention, okay I know what intention is….intention, intention…I'm taking you little whirlwind and I am directing you to…the wall!_

It dissipated. It went nowhere. "Well that was anti-climactic," she said with a frown.

"You didn't do it right. Here, let me try—" He reached out and attempted to grab the sword from her hand. A crackling sound rent the air and Loki swore and pulled his hand in close to his chest. "It zapped me!"

Jane broke into her first smile since that morning. "She's definitely mine, isn't she?" she said, then while Loki looked on in disgust, Jane lifted her sword and cooed, "That's a good girl….that's my good She-Ra."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Jane put her sword down and ignored the fact that Loki was not pleased he'd been unable to hold She-Ra. Something he said did strike her as curious though and she looked at him with her head cocked to the side. "What did you mean my magick calls to you?"

"I can hear it, like a song…it reminds me of when Frigga would sing me to sleep." He frowned. "And I can feel it."

"What does it feel like?"

He looked at her fully then. "Power. Strong and yet somehow soft…like you. I can smell it, too. It smells like honeysuckle."

She smiled. "I like that. I wonder if I can do the same with yours."

Loki opened his mouth to answer when there was a knock at her door. She looked worriedly at the door and frowned.

"Jane?" Thor's voice came through.

Jane sighed. "Come in," she called out.

When the door opened, Thor glanced towards Loki and then looked at Jane. "Are you training already?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. Loki said he—"

"Wanted to check on her," Loki interrupted. "Considering one of us was incapable of being mature."

Okay, so apparently Loki didn't want Thor to know that he could smell, feel, and hear her magick. Odd that, but she'd roll with it.

"That is quite rich coming from you, Loki," Thor said.

Loki shrugged. "I am not the one that claims to love the girl."

"I do love her," Thor said testily.

"You love your hammer more," Loki said.

Jane winced at that. "Loki, shut up. You're not helping."

"He's not trying to," Thor observed. "Loki thrives on discord. Don't you, brother?"

Loki grinned. "Only when it suits my purposes."

Jane turned to face him. "And what purpose is this serving exactly?"

"It's not," Loki said. "I merely enjoy pointing out when Thor is being….what is it Tony called Steve recently?"

"Pouty Pants," Jane supplied. Though she as a rule didn't side with Loki on much of anything, she did have to agree with him on this one. Whatever bug had crawled up Thor's ass and died when he'd discovered she had been able to pick up Mjolnir, had not made him look good. A few more revelations outside of her sudden immortality and powers had been realized and none of them sat well with Jane.

"I'd like to speak to Jane alone, Loki," Thor said. His tone suggested he was quite done with Loki's crap.

"Very well then…Pouty Pants." And with a snap of his fingers, he was gone. Jane attempted to sniff the air but came up with nothing.

"What are you doing?" Thor asked, looking at her as though she'd lost her mind.

"Nothing," she said a bit indignantly.

"Jane, I'm sorry."

She looked at him. He did look sorry, but Jane was still hurt and still pissed. "Are you truly?"

He sighed. "Yes. I…I don't know what came over me."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Mind if I give it a shot?"

"Jane—"

"I'm mortal – or I was. As a rule mortals are wholly unworthy in Asgardian terms. You fight beside them, you call them friends, you call me your lover, and yet as long as I keep my place – and they keep theirs – you're fine. But then something out of both our control deemed me worthy to lift your hammer and you flipped your shit. What you really think and what you really feel came out. I'm to keep my place by your side as your brilliant little astrophysicist. You can be proud of me in the things you don't understand, but when I came up to your level, you didn't want me there. And you sure as hell weren't proud of me."

Thor held up his hands. "Try to understand from my point of view for a minute."

"I'm listening."

He gestured to She-Ra. "Your sword; I've seen how you clutch it. How you already hold it as if it is part of you. Tell me, do you feel a kinship to it already, Jane?"

Jane didn't want to admit it, but yes, she did. From the moment she'd seen it, it had called to her. And then when she'd held it, it had felt as though it was a part of her. She hadn't wanted to relinquish it since because it comforted her. It was so strange how quickly she had become so attached to it. And a little disconcerting.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Now imagine you've had your sword for a lifetime. Can you imagine how it might feel to think you could lose her? To think you might have to hand her over to someone else?"

"Seriously, can we not talk about your hammer and my sword like they're our significant others? It's a little weird. And how do you know my sword is a she?"

"I assumed," he said with a shrug.

"You're always assuming." Even if Jane did think of her as a she and had given her the name of a certain Princess of Power, she wasn't going to tell Thor that. At least not while she was pissed at him.

"Jane, just please, hear me out and try to understand."

She sighed and gestured for him to continue.

"That sword was made for you. It is yours. As far as we know that sword cannot belong to anyone else. My hammer is not the same. It could, conceivably one day belong to someone else. At one point in time I could not hold the thing that felt like part of me in my hand. I have been groomed since I was a child to be a warrior. I have been groomed to be worthy of Mjolnir and to defend Asgard. When I lost it during my stay in Puente Antiguo, it felt as though I had lost a limb. When I learned you lifted Mjolnir, I thought that meant I'd lost it."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have."

She stared at him, her mind tossing his words around in her head. "Thor, do you not have an identity outside of Mjolnir? Outside of being a warrior and an Avenger?" He had to…right? Or was this it for Thor? Was being Thor, the God who wielded his hammer and fought enemies – was that all he was?

Thor heaved a deep sigh. "I do not think I have much of one."

Whoa.

"You wanted Mjolnir, right?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"I didn't ask for my sword. I didn't ask for my powers. I didn't ask to please let me lift Thor's hammer. I did it on a dare. I didn't think I'd be able to do it. And now, here I am, an Aesir by default and now I what? Defend Asgard, too? Become an Avenger and a warrior? Do you think I wanted this?" Her eyes welled up in tears. "But it's happened and I'm scared and I don't know what I'm doing or why this is happening and the one that is supposed to be there for me and support me and help me couldn't even _look_ at me. I had to get comfort from Loki, Thor. I mean…" Her bottom lip quivered. "I want Erik. I want Darcy. I want to go home. They probably think I'm dead…"

In two strides, Thor was before her and pulled her into his arms. She cried softly into his chest as he wrapped her up in his arms that had at one time made her feel so safe. She wanted that feeling back but she just…didn't feel it. It was amazing how a few short hours could change so much. Maybe she wasn't so upset by his behavior anymore, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that much of it stemmed from him thinking her completely unworthy. It was disheartening.

"I will help you, Jane. We will figure this out together," Thor said soothingly. "I promise you."

Loki, invisible, stood in the corner of Jane's room and watching the pair hug. His watched them thoughtfully. He didn't like this. He liked it better earlier when there was a wedge between them. If Thor and Jane mended their relationship, Thor would interfere with Loki's lessons. He'd interfere with Loki getting closer to her magick, and Loki most definitely needed to be close to wanted to know why her magick called to him; why it felt so close to his own…

He also felt that training her would give him some ground. It gave him a purpose, most definitely. He hadn't been trusted with much since New York. But with everyone wondering about this turn of events concerning the mortal, they would have less time to watch his every move.

Plus, there was the fact of determining just what kind of warrior this mortal was. Could she be trusted?

Loki sighed. There was just so much to do. Looked like he had some planning to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Jane stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom later that night. Something wasn't right. Her body was…aching. She felt tingly all over, especially in her joints. She rolled over for the hundredth time and stared at She-Ra resting against the wall next to her bed. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her. She sat up. Okay, that was it. She needed to know what hell was going on with her.

She tossed on her silk blue robe and grabbed She-Ra. She swung open her door and peered out. She didn't hear anyone, but she knew guards roamed the halls diligently all through the night. Not that she would necessarily get in any kind of trouble for being out of her room, but she feared that Odin was going to be super-diligent in watching her every move and she didn't really want to awaken the whole palace.

Just Loki.

She scurried down the hall, clutching She-Ra tightly in her hand, and felt little pinpricks in her feet. It was the same feeling as though they'd fallen asleep and now the blood was flowing again. When she got to Loki's door, she knocked softly on it. "Loki," she hissed. "It's me. Let me in."

Nothing.

She knocked again and was about to knock a third time when a shirtless and none too happy Loki opened his door. He glared at her. "What. In. The. Name. Of. Hel—"

She pushed past him and hurried inside his room.

"Well, look at who's suddenly fearless now that she has some power," Loki snarled. He shut his door. "You know I could still punish you for waking me up."

"You could," Jane said. "But you won't."

"I won't?"

"Nope. Listen – something is happening to me. To my body."

Loki sighed. "Jane, I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, but you simply cannot have me. Despite how annoyed you are with Thor, he is still your lover. Or, boyfriend as you Midgardians—"

Jane knew he was teasing her and decided it was best to just ignore him and plough ahead. "I'm aching all over. Like in my joints…I feel like something is going on inside. Sometimes it just hurts. What's wrong with me? Is it the magick?"

Loki frowned and came closer to her. Jane tried not to look at Loki's chest, but considering it was kind of, well, _there_ , she couldn't _not_ look at it. He wasn't bulky like Thor. Although few were in all honestly. Loki had muscle definition to be sure, but he was lean and sinewy. His torso and legs went on forever.

He took hold of her arm and lifted it. He smoothed one hand down her forearm and his eyes shut as though he was in ecstasy. He didn't move.

"Loki?" she asked softly.

"Your magick," he croaked. "Great Valhalla it is potent and heady…" He dropped her arm then as though it had burned him and he walked away from her quickly.

"What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong except I want to bathe in the magick that runs through your veins."

She blinked. "It's that good?"

His nostrils flared. "Yes."

"It didn't shock you that time at least."

"I believe that when you or it feels threatened it protects you." He pointed at her sword "And your sword."

"She-Ra."

"I will not call your sword that ridiculous name."

"Eventually you will."

"I will not."

She grinned. "Will too."

He heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Jane…"

"What's wrong with me, Loki? Why does my body hurt?"

"Your magick is settling into you. Your mortality is leaving you and your Aesir self is emerging. It's seeping into your bones, your muscle, and your blood."

"So it's like growing pains?"

"Precisely."

"There is nothing I can do about it?"

He cocked his head to the side and studied her thoughtfully. "Will you allow me to try something?"

"As long as you don't hurt me, sure."

"I will not. Lay down upon the bed, please."

Jane frowned and looked at Loki's huge bed. His green silk sheets were all in disarray. It did look like a mighty comfortable bed, but it was _Loki's_ bed. This felt like crossing a line.

"Do you want to rest or not?" he asked testily.

She did. She was exhausted. She knew Aesir's didn't require the same amount of sleep that a human did, but she wasn't apparently fully an Aesir yet and she'd had a big day. She wasn't doing anything wrong by seeking Loki's help. He was the one with knowledge of magick that could help her. Plus, he was her trainer now, too, so it made sense that she would go to him.

And lay on his bed.

She sighed and made her way over to the bed, placing her sword down on the floor. She climbed onto his bed and was assailed with the scent of bergamot, which just smelled like man to her. She'd never taken the time to sniff Loki so she wasn't sure if this was his daily scent or just what he smelled like on Asgard. Thor always smelled like sandalwood with just a hint of Sulphur.

She lay down folded her hands over her belly. "Okay, I'm ready for…what are you going to do to me exactly?"

"I'm going to see if I can use my magick to ease your pain. If it works and your magick doesn't shock me, I will assume I was right in my assumptions that it protects you."

"So, then it didn't like you being grabby with my sword."

"Exactly. And before that when you felt threatened seeing my Mother and Odin, that shield appeared to—"

"Wait, I know this one!" She grinned. "To protect me?"

Loki heaved a sigh. "You are tiresome, Jane Foster."

"Yeah, and now you're stuck with me," she said and then closed her eyes.

She heard Loki get up on the bed and she opened one eye and watched him kneel beside her on the bed. He then laid his hands out flat before him and lowered them to her shoulder. Green shimmery light emanated from the palms of his hands and met her skin. She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes. The pain was gone and something else took its place…her heart started to race. She wasn't scared. She wasn't anxious per se – at least not in the bad way. Instead she felt the kind of anxious she used to feel when Thor would come for a visit in the early stages of their relationship. She felt…eager.

And then that was gone and she felt a deep relaxation. So deep it felt like it in her very soul. That excitement though, the eagerness, it was there still. Just a dull throb underneath that peace…

"Oh my God," she moaned.

"Indeed," he murmured. "Jane, look."

She opened her eyes and her eyes widened. His hands were over her chest and her magick and she could _see_ her magick. It was white and shimmered with pink and silver. It met with Loki's green but they didn't co-mingle, just sort of rubbed up against each other.

"Wow," she breathed.

He grinned. "I think they like each other."

"I don't hurt anymore," she said softly.

He looked down at her, met her eyes. "Good." He moved his hands away and got off the bed. "You should be able to sleep now."

She got the message loud and clear: leave.

She got up and climbed off the bed, grabbed She-Ra, and went to his door. "Thank you, Loki," she said softly. "Good night."

He said nothing as she slipped out of his room and ran back down to hers. Pain free now, she made her way into her room, laid She-Ra against the wall again and climbed into bed. She was asleep within mere minutes.

xxxxxxxxx

Loki couldn't believe it. He'd gotten _hard_. From _Jane_. No, that wasn't it. It was her magick. Being close to it like that, feeling it…it was ecstasy. The question was _why_. Why did it feel this way to him? Why did he react so strongly to it?

He was tempted to ask his Mother if she knew, even Eir, but he didn't want anyone to know that he felt it, heard it and could smell it. Thor would not be pleased, and when Thor was displeased he disrupted everything. No doubt he'd demand Loki stay away from Jane and then Loki would never be able to figure out what her magick and his could do together. Could they co-mingle at some point?

What he could do with that kind of power… hers was a force and so was his. Put them together and they would be unstoppable. Loki's smile fell and his erection deflated. Except that Jane was _good_. She was honest and forthright; she cared about people and didn't want to hurt them. How nauseating.

Loki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. But could she be corrupted? In time, could he use her magick – and her – and bend them both to his will? His mind raced with the possibilities.

Now he was quite eager to begin their training.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

When Jane woke the next morning, she found clothes waiting for her. She didn't want to think about some maid just walking in and leaving things for her while she'd been sleeping. Plus, she didn't like the idea of anyone just coming on by and possibly touching her sword.

Yet she'd given Thor crap for how he'd reacted when it came to his hammer.

The clothes left behind were similar to what Sif wore: black leggings with a red skirt and some armor. But instead of red and black, Jane was left black (leggings) and blue (skirt). Great. She was a bruise.

Somehow she'd managed to get into her outfit, which she thought complemented She-Ra quite well. She felt like a bad-ass warrior – with cleavage! – and a woman at the same time. When she thought of having breakfast with Odin, she didn't so much feel like a warrior anymore.

After a somewhat painful breakfast, Sif and The Warriors Three were brought in for a meeting by Odin and Frigga. They wanted to tell them about Jane and seek their promise that they would not let word get out quite yet about her to the rest of Asgard. They needed time to decide where she exactly fit and what her powers were. Loki seemed to think that some could still be emerging.

Jane watched the reactions of Sif and The Warriors Three closely as they were told. There were varying levels of shock and questioning looks leveled their way. She knew exactly what they were thinking, which was voiced when Sif exclaimed, "But a _mortal_?! How did a mortal obtain such a gift?" The dark-haired Goddess turned accusing eyes on Jane. "Forgive me your Majesties for speaking out of turn, but I just do not understand how _she_ could ever be worthy."

"You may always speak your mind, Sif," Odin said.

Jane fought the urge to glare at him openly. It probably wouldn't look good for her to glare at him considering she was under his protection now and he _was_ the King, but _of course_ it was all right for Sif to speak exactly what he and everyone else were thinking. She looked at Thor, whose jaw clenched tight. He caught her looking at him and he stepped forward. "It does not matter the reasons why," he said, his voice strained. "It only matters that Jane was chosen. She was found worthy and has been made part of us. We will treat as such."

Jane wondered how hard that was for him to choke out considering she knew he felt just as Sif did. Would he have said anything at all had she not looked at him? She lifted her chin and pursed her lips together. She wasn't going to let their lowly opinion of her get to her. At least that's what she told herself.

Sif stormed out of the palace and Thor went after her. Jealousy and anger flared inside her.

"Contain. Your. Magick," Loki hissed.

"What are you even talking about?" she demanded.

He pointed down and she looked. Oh. The whirlwind was back, swirling around her feet. "How do I contain it if I don't even know I'm doing it?" she asked irritably.

"Calm yourself," he told her. "It appears when you're distressed."

"I hate it when people tell you to calm down like it's just so easy when you're all riled up," she snapped. The whirlwind lifted and expanded, swirling around her like a hurricane "If I could just calm down I would!"

She wasn't sure if her nerves were rattled to the point of having this tantrum, or if her distressed magick was just feeding her state already and the two were just now feeding off each other. The more she felt the wind of her magick circling her, the more out of control she felt. She felt it build and build. It had to go somewhere that much she knew, but she wasn't sure how she knew it.

"I need to do something with it," she told Loki. "It wants to go."

"How do you know that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing curiously.

"I just know it," she said.

His eyes flashed with recognition. "Then listen to it and let it tell you how to direct it."

Jane heaved a sigh and shut her eyes, concentrating. Where she held She-Ra tingled and Jane followed what she felt she should do and lifted her arm, raising it toward glassless window. She concentrated on sending her magick through it.

 _Out the window, out the window, out the window_ , she thought. The whirlwind moved up her body and then swirled around her sword. _It was working!_ "Go!" she shouted and it burst forth in a gust of wind so powerful, the walls shook.

Something crashed outside a second later and a shout that sounded a lot like Sif rent the air. Eyes wide, Jane ran out the doors, The Warriors Three hot on her heels. She found a statue had fallen and Sif had her legs trapped under it. Thor was in the process of lifting it off her. Jane rushed to help, not even sure if she had that kind of strength. She placed She-Ra down and rushed to lift the other end of the statue and found she did in fact have that kind of strength.

"I'm so sorry," Jane said as she knelt beside Sif. "I don't know how to control—"

Sif slapped her across the face. "You are _not_ worthy of the gift you've been given," she hissed.

"Can you stand?" Thor asked Sif and held out his hand.

Sif placed her hand in Thor's and he pulled as she attempted to lift herself up. She couldn't. She shook her head. "I'm too injured."

"Let's get you to Eir then," Thor said and lifted Sif into his arms.

He didn't even look at Jane.

Jane watched them and The Warriors Three go and crumpled into tears. Frigga wound an arm about her shoulders. "It's all right, child. Sif is hurt, but it is not permanent. It would take a lot more than that to seriously injure Sif. She just needs to heal."

Jane looked down at the statue which was about as tall as Thor. She supposed for a Goddess like Sif it would take a lot more to injure her. Still though, she had been the one to harm her, proving just how wrong she was to have been chosen with these powers. "I didn't mean to hurt her," Jane said through her tears. "I didn't want to hurt anyone in that room. I just had to get rid of what I'd created…"

"You made a call which you thought was the best in that moment and with the information you had. That is all a warrior can do," Frigga said gently.

"I'm not a warrior," Jane protested.

Frigga laughed softly. Almost sympathetically. "Oh, my dear. You most certainly are now. And your magick is the exact reason why Loki will be training you."

Jane looked over at Loki who stood there watching them with his arms folded. His expression was unreadable but there was a gleam in his eye she'd seen before. "We'll begin right away," he said. "Meet me in the gardens, Jane."

He strode away quickly and Jane felt her stomach turn over. This was all she needed. A power-hungry Loki who was attracted to her magick to train her.

This was going to suck.

"You don't think she's worthy either, do you?" Sif asked after she'd seen Eir and was now settled in her room in a chair. She was going to be fine, Eir had concluded. She just needed to rest.

Thor raked a hand through his hair. "Sif—"

"Just admit it," Fandral said.

"This cannot be stressed enough: she's mortal," Volstagg said. He shook his head. "I'm hungry. You got any food in here?"

Thor held back a grin. Jane would call what Volstagg did "stress eating". He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He was an ass. He'd just walked away from her in his rush to have Sif checked out that he hadn't even bothered to comfort her. He knew Jane hadn't meant to hurt Sif. He knew that. But still, he'd done nothing. He didn't even say anything when Sif had slapped her.

"Is there any way this can be fixed?" Hogun asked. "Can she lose her powers?"

"Enough," Thor said sternly. He looked at his friend. "The Norns have found Jane worthy and a gift has bestowed upon her. Who are we to question them? Who are we to decide who is and who is not worthy? Have we not seen great warriors of Midgard before? Let's not forget that Jane saved my mother and myself from a certain death."

"That's two compared to how many I've saved?" Sif said, clearly outraged.

"Ah, so it is that you are jealous?" Thor asked. "You wish for more than you have. Perhaps then, it is best you do not have more."

The room fell silent.

Thor needed to see Jane. Tell her he was sorry. He made his way to the door and then stopped and turned to face his friends. "You may not like what has transpired but there is nothing any of you can do about it. You cannot change what has been decreed by the Norns. You may not like it, but you must accept it. And Jane. She is one of us now and you will treat her with respect."

With that, he left, and went in search of Jane. She was no doubt displeased with him and he couldn't say as he blamed her.

xxxxxxxxx

"Stop crying," Loki snapped. "You're being pathetic."

Jane wiped at her tears and glared at him from the bench she was sitting on. "No, I'm being normal. I have emotions, Loki."

"Too many if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't," she snapped back. "Sif has never been a fan of mine and now she absolutely hates me. She doesn't think I'm worthy because I'm a mortal—"

"Mortals are not worthy, it's true," he said matter-of-factly. She opened her mouth to no doubt snap again at him and he held up a hand to stop her. "But you are no longer mortal so get over it."

"Loki, you're not a big fan of me either. I know you must have some reservations about all this. Way more than Thor does."

"I do, but I remind myself that you saved my mother."

"And your brother."

"As I said, you protected my mother."

Jane rolled her eyes. "You still don't think I'm worthy."

"Does it matter what I think? What Thor and Sif think? Worrying about what others think of you isn't going to do anything but hold you back. The Norns have looked down upon you and blessed you. And yet here you sit, blubbering like a weakling because you hurt someone – and hurt them _accidentally_ to boot. Do you have any idea how many people I've hurt – mostly on purpose?"

Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed. "I'm aware."

"You have a spine, Jane Foster. I've seen it. Ironically, more so when you were human! You seemed to have misplaced it when you received She-Ra and your magick. Do you wish to prove them right? Do you wish to prove _me_ right? That you're not worthy? Or do you wish to prove to them that you can be a warrior and you can do the duty you've been now _made_ to do?"

Loki the inspirational speaker. Who would have thought? He was right, too. She had been found worthy by powers that even Odin and Loki dare not fight. She could prove them right by allowing her magick to run wild and control her, or she could learn to control _it_ and show that she could do this. She was a Nobel Peace Prize winner for Christ's sake. She was smart, capable, and proud of her work. While that held no clout on Asgard, it did in her world. On Asgard it was her magick that held clout. It was this… "gift" that meant something to the people around her. Just as she knew she was worthy of her Nobel Peace Prize, she would make herself believe she was just as worthy to wield She-Ra and create her little hurricanes. She had to show them that she was given all this for a reason.

She stood and grabbed She-Ra. "I'm ready, but I just want to point out one thing."

"Yes?"

She smiled winsomely and lifted her sword. "You called her She-Ra."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"What we need to do," Loki said as he paced before Jane, "is teach you to control your magick."

"Duh."

He ignored her. "Those little whirlwinds—"

"Little?"

"—appear when you're upset. The more distressed you become, the bigger they get." He stopped pacing and stood in front of her. "What I want to know is can you create them without becoming upset first? Also, yesterday you were able to lift the furniture in your apartment. I've yet to see that happen again."

"What do I do first then?" she asked.

"I want you to concentrate on making a whirlwind. You've seen what it looks like and you know what it feels like. Now I want you to create it by seeing it in your mind's eye and concentrating on how it felt."

Jane closed her eyes and focused on those little whirlwinds. She imagined it swirling around her, she called up the feeling of them…

She opened her eyes after feeling a breeze. Loki shook his head. "Just a breeze. Again."

"Jane."

Both her and Loki looked to the side to see Thor coming upon them. Loki glared at his brother and Thor held up his hand apologetically. "I know you're working—"

"And we just started. Already you're interrupting us?" Loki said irritably. "She'll never learn at this rate."

"I just want to speak with Jane quickly and I'll leave you to your lessons," Thor said. He looked at Jane. "May I have a minute, Jane?"

Jane shifted on her feet and glanced at a thunderous looking Loki before nodding and placing She-Ra down on the bench. She followed Thor as he led them away for some privacy.

"How's it going?" Thor asked gently.

"We just started, but already not well. How's Sif?"

"She'll be fine."

"I didn't mean to do it," Jane said. "I got upset when you went after her. I know she doesn't like me and I can't seem to control how I conjure up the whirlwind. I just knew I had to get rid of it and I—"

Thor put his hand over her mouth and smiled at her. "Jane, I know you didn't mean to hurt her. You're not that kind of person and you had no way of knowing what would happen."

Jane moved his hand away and Thor kissed her. Jane gripped his tunic and hungrily welcomed his kiss. When he broke it, he pecked the tip of her nose. "I love you, Jane," he told her. "I haven't shown in much since yesterday and I'm sorry."

"Do you mean it?" she asked softly.

"Do you think a day would change my feelings for you?"

"It was a pretty eventful day."

"I haven't stopped loving you, Jane. I let my pride get in the way."

"And your Asgardian snobbery."

He nodded with a small resigned smile. "Yes, and my Asgardian snobbery." He cupped the side of her face with his hand. "Can you forgive me?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"Will you defend me? At least a little? I'm a fish out of water here, Thor. I'm new to this and I'm scared and I need you—"

"Done and done," Thor murmured and kissed her again.

"Jane Foster, do you want to learn or not?" Loki shouted to them.

Jane rolled her eyes. "I better go before his head starts spinning."

"Before you go," Thor said and took her hands in his. "Would you like to see Erik and Darcy later? We could make the trip to Earth to see them. I know you're worried about them, and no doubt they are worried about you."

Jane beamed at him. "Yes, please." Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly before rushing back to meet Taskmaster Loki.

"It's about time," he growled at her when she returned.

"Oh, unclench," she said and grabbed She-Ra off the bench. "All right. Where were we?"

xxxxxxxxx

Three hours later and Jane thought she _should_ have a headache and probably would if she were still human. She had managed to create a whirlwind all right, but only after getting pissed at Loki for getting pissed at _her_. This time when she directed it out, she felled a small tree. She had also managed to lift the bench about an inch, but of course that wasn't enough for Loki. He wanted more, more, more.

God, he was _such_ a pain in the ass.

"Tomorrow, we'll practice sword fighting," he told her.

"Can't wait. I'm sure you're looking forward to kicking my ass."

His cheeky grin said he was.

"Jane, are you ready?" Thor asked as he came upon them.

Jane nodded. "I so am."

"Where are you off to?" Loki asked curiously.

"We're going to see Erik and Darcy," Jane told him.

"How quaint. Jane, do rest up tonight. I'll not go easy on you tomorrow."

"Did you go easy on me today?" she asked.

"Well, no."

"Yeah, I didn't think so," she muttered.

Thor held out his hand and Jane took it with a broad smile. Loki's eyes narrowed as he watched the pair walk away. Well, they were all better now weren't they? His lip curled into a sneer and he began to ponder the best way to put an end to that. With the incident this morning regarding Sif, and considering how the Warriors Three were clearly displeased by this turn of events, he had a few variables to consider…

xxxxxxx

When Thor and Jane arrived at Erik's, Erik yanked Jane into a hug that she never wanted to leave. Erik was like her Dad, except he actually acknowledged her accomplishments unlike her real father. She hadn't realized just how much she needed Erik right now until he was hugging her like he was just so happy and relieved she was all right.

He ushered them into his apartment where Darcy was pretending to work, and Jane felt a rush of affection for her ditzy friend. Darcy, she realized, was the sister she never had.

"What is with the sword, Jane?" Erik asked.

She bit her lip and glanced at Thor and then down at her sword. "Um, this is mine. Her name is She-Ra."

"Like that old eighties cartoon?" Darcy asked.

Jane nodded.

"A gift from you?" Erik asked Thor.

Thor opened his mouth to reply, but Jane cut him off. "Why don't we sit? I have some news."

Erik's brow furrowed, but he gestured for them to take a seat at his kitchen table, which was cluttered with papers and gadgets, and all the things Jane already missed. She set She-Ra against the table and began to pour over the papers and the scribbles upon them. Darcy hastily cleaned them up and in no particular order which just made Jane crazy. Like her, Erik had an order to things even though it didn't appear that way at first glance. It was something that Darcy had never quite been able to figure out.

She was tempted to grab the papers from Darcy and attempt to straighten them in the way she thought Erik might like, but she stopped herself. In just one short day it didn't feel like her place anymore.

In fact, as she looked around the apartment, at the place she and Erik and Darcy had done so much work and made so many breakthroughs, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss. By the time the tea was in front of her, Jane had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Jane?" Erik asked concernedly. "What's happened?"

Thor reached out and covered her hand with his big one. "Jane, do you want me to tell them?"

She nodded as she got up and grabbed a wad of paper towels to dry her eyes. Erik never had tissues.

The looks on her friends faces was exactly what Jane had expected. Shock, awe…that pretty much covered it. Darcy stared at her and when Jane sat down again, Darcy poked her once. Then twice. Then three times.

"Darcy, what the hell?" Jane demanded, rubbing her arm.

"You felt that?" Darcy asked.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Of course I felt it."

"Did it hurt? You're all godly now, isn't it not supposed to hurt?"

"It felt like annoyance."

Darcy grinned and pointed to She-Ra. "Can I hold it?"

Jane slipped her hand around the handle. "Um, no, I…no."

Darcy just shrugged. Jane could imagine that if Darcy suddenly found herself an Aesir she'd just roll with it like it was no big deal. Something told her she wouldn't have a hard time adjusting to it at all. God, she wished she could be more like that.

"What does this mean for you now?" Erik asked quietly.

Jane looked at him. "Honestly? I don't know. I mean, I know I'm to be trained as a warrior now. I do have a weapon and these powers and all…"

"Can you show us?" Darcy asked.

"You saw the hole in our apartment?" Thor asked her. Darcy nodded. "Jane threw me through it."

"Holy shit, Jane!" Darcy exclaimed. "You're a total badass now!"

Jane's smile was thin. "I don't know how to control it quite yet."

"You'll be in danger," Erik said. Everyone looked at him. "It's true, isn't it? She's a mortal – _was_ a mortal – chosen to have these powers. What being in the Nine Realms wouldn't feel that was wrong?"

"We're keeping it all quiet on Asgard," Thor told him. "No one but myself, my Father and—"

"Loki knows. It doesn't matter who else does," Erik said. "You might as well paint a bull's eye on her."

"Erik," Jane protested. "He won't…" She shook her head. No, she couldn't make promises like that. This was _Loki._ Was anyone ever sure of what Loki would do?

"The God that played with my mind? That attempted to take over the Earth? He wouldn't?" Erik challenged. He got up from the table and brought his half drank mug to the sink. "I don't want this for you, Jane."

"He will not do anything untoward to Jane, Erik," Thor said. "He is being watched."

"He is?" Jane asked. "We are?"

"You will be checked on," Thor assured her.

"I still don't like it," Erik said. "Your brother is diabolical. He could find a way to harm, Jane."

"He won't," Thor said firmly, but Jane knew Thor well enough to hear the doubt in his voice.

"Well, I sort of have a protection thing going on," Jane said. "It's zapped Loki twice."

Thor looked at her. "I remember the first time. When was the second?"

"He tried to grab She-Ra. He wanted to try something and she zapped him. He's figured out that my magick protects me."

"Yes, well, what happens when he figures out a way around that?" Erik asked.

Jane frowned. "Well, I think my powers are connected to me. To my feelings and emotions. I think as long as I remain wary of him, my magick will too."

"I promise, Erik," Thor said. "No harm will come to Jane."

Erik didn't look convinced, and quite honestly Jane wasn't either.

xxxxxxxxx

Thor left shortly after his promise to Erik to check in at Avengers Headquarters. He wanted to let them know of the new development. Both Jane and Thor knew their friends wouldn't tell anyone. Jane had spent enough time with them to trust that.

While he was gone, Jane sat with Darcy and Erik on Erik's balcony where he had several potted plants in an attempt to feel closer to nature even when cooped up inside working on theories. Jane explained to them what her powers were so far and that she was having difficulty controlling them and then making them happen without her emotions being attached to it.

"God, that's awesome. You're like...Maleficent and Emma Swan."

Jane laughed softly. "It would be even more awesome if I could make them happen easily like they did, but I keep struggling with it. The only time I was able to control it was this morning when I shot that whirlwind out the window." She left out the part about the statue and Sif.

"What did you do differently then?" Darcy asked.

Jane furrowed her brow. Good question. She did as Loki said and listened to her magick. It had wanted to go and so she'd found where to send it and –

"Oh my God, Darcy, you're a genius!" she exclaimed and jumped up. "I told it to go and it went!"

"I am genius it's true," Darcy said with a smirk.

Jane looked around the balcony for the smallest potted plant and when she found it, a small spider plant tucked in the corner; she knelt before it and placed She-Ra before her.

Darcy came over and knelt beside her. Erik hung back, wary. "Do cool hand gestures like Maleficent and Emma Swan," Darcy encouraged. "Please, Jane? For me?"

Jane laughed and nodded. She had totally been planning on it. She looked at the potted spider plant and focused on making it lift. She felt it then, what she had been feeling all day, but what had never come to fruition. Her magick stirred. _I am going to do this_ , she thought. She moved her hand in a half circle and pointed her pointer finger up and said, "Lift."

It shook. It lifted a little and then dropped. Jane pursed her lips together and moved her hand again in the same way and said sternly, "Lift!"

It lifted. It floated right in front of them.

"Holy crap," Darcy breathed.

Jane smiled, encouraged.

"Can you make it move around?" Darcy whispered.

Jane didn't know, but she was going to try. With her pointer finger she moved it to the side and said, "Move." It moved fast, too fast, and crashed into the balcony. The pot shattered and fell to pieces on the concrete.

"Whoa," Darcy said. "Okay, so, maybe you need to work on that."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, I do, but I got farther than I did today with Loki."

"Maybe it's best if Loki doesn't know all that you can do," Erik said. "Can you practice without him knowing?"

Jane sighed. "I'm not sure. Loki said my magick called to him. He said he's drawn to it."

"He's drawn to power and you're the shiny new thing with power," Erik said drily.

He had a point.

"Well, then I'll just have to find a way to practice without him knowing," Jane said slowly. "I'll find a way."

She waved her hand again. "Lift." The spider plant rose and she moved her fingers around and toward her. "Come," she said. She thought, _slowly_. It glided slowly toward her and she grabbed it gently and smiled.

Her mind started to race with the possibilities of what else she could do with this particular magick. She wondered too if there was anything yet left to discover.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

When Thor came back after his meeting with The Avengers, Jane saw through his forced smile and jovial demeanor. She knew him well enough to tell when something was off with him. She didn't want to talk about it in front of Darcy and Erik, so she tried to divert his attention by showing him what she could now do.

"I still have to work on it," she said. "I did break a potted plant, but at least I'm onto something now."

"Yes, you have much to learn, and not just with magick, but with battle as well," Thor said. "It will take some time for you to hone your skills."

Okay, so that wasn't exactly what she'd expected from him. She was hoping for him to be a little happier, but it wasn't as if he was wrong. She did have much more to learn. Just…couldn't he have rejoiced with her small victories? Loki certainly wouldn't do that. Perhaps Thor and Loki were more alike than they thought.

"Everything okay?" she asked him.

"Yes," he said.

She wanted to ask him what The Avengers had to say, but that could wait until they were back on Asgard. They bid Erik and Darcy adieu, with the promise that she would be careful with Loki. It was hard to say goodbye to them, even though she knew she would be seeing them again. Her old life was gone though, and she felt the loss acutely.

It was with a heavy heart that she and Thor returned to Asgard. He walked ahead of her again and instead of giving into the sadness she already felt leaving Earth and her mortal life behind, she grew angry. She stopped on the Rainbow Bridge and called his name.

Thor turned and faced her, a quizzical expression on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Do you want to tell me what happened with The Avengers? Why you're being all broody and dare I say it – just like Loki when he's in a mood."

"He's always in a mood."

"Yeah, and if the past couple days are any indication you're headed there. What the hell happened?"

Thor sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Nothing. They are…pleased. Worried, too, as I am about you."

"Can't you just tell me you're worried about me instead of acting like you can't get away from me fast enough?"

He sighed and looked down. "I seem to be apologizing quite a bit."

"Stop doing stupid stuff and you won't have to."

His smile was thin and it didn't quite meet his eyes. "I will try."

"Anything else? What exactly did they say?"

Thor pursed his lips together. He didn't want to tell her that his friends, his team, had asked if Jane could now be part of them. They had been worried about her, too, that was true. Worried about what it meant for Jane being on Asgard. Would she be a target now for the people of Asgard who didn't like the idea of a mortal having been gifted with powers? How would those on the other Realm take it – would she be in danger?

"How the hell is she going to live without her work?" Tony had asked.

"She's an even bigger science nerd than we are," Bruce had added with a chuckle.

"Wow, Thor, your girlfriend _is_ kind of better now," Tony had quipped with a smirk. It had been a running joke between them both, a slight competition of whose girl was better – Pepper or Jane. Thor was ashamed of himself for not being happier about Jane's gifts. He tried to tell himself that he was over being covetous of Mjolnir and now he was just concerned for her because of all the things his team had brought up, plus Erik's concerns regarding Loki.

Then Natasha joined in the conversation by asking, "So, when is she going to join our team?"

Everyone looked at her in varying degrees of interest and uncertainty. "Come on, guys," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Jane was badass without her powers, but now? Can you just imagine it? Why wouldn't we want her on our team?"

The discussion had been opened and it had been decided that yes, she should be. Thor was the only one that had stayed out of it. He worked with mortals. His entire team was made up of them – so why was he having such an issue with Jane being part of it? Why did he feel that perhaps he was less than her? Why was he making this some kind of competition?

"They were as concerned as Erik was, as _I_ am, for what this all means for you," Thor finally told Jane.

Jane seemed to accept that. "Yeah, so, about that…I was thinking…"

"Yes?"

"Loki told me he can feel my magick. He can feel it, smell it, and sense it."

This actually did concern Thor. "Oh?"

"Yes, he told me that…so, I was thinking that I could sort of practice away from him? Erik kind of freaked me out and I'm not sure I want Loki to be aware of what I can do until I'm stronger and can control it better. Is there anywhere I can practice where he won't be able to detect it?"

Thor furrowed his brow and then nodded. "Yes, there is. An iron chamber where we sometimes train. I remember my Mother told me once that she would train Loki there with his magick because it didn't hinder their magick, but it concealed it from those that might be susceptible to it. It's far enough away from the palace that Loki might not be able to detect it. Jane, why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

How did she tell him that Loki didn't seem to want anyone to know? She should tell him. She should be completely honest with Thor even if she knew he wasn't being completely honest with her. So, what was stopping her? Why couldn't she get the words out? She didn't know; she just didn't know. Perhaps it was because she knew the ruckus it would cause. Thor would no doubt have a canary and then he'd want to tell Odin and Frigga and the Loki would be pissed…

Did it really matter if Loki was pissed? Well, yes. A pissed off Loki was a dangerous Loki. So his devious mind that was probably already churning with ideas and schemes would then work overtime. No. It was best to just keep her mouth shut.

She shrugged.

"I'll take you there now," Thor said and this time he held out his hand to her.

xxxxxxxxx

Both Jane and Thor were subdued. The both of them looked almost melancholy and that alone tipped Loki off that something had happened on Midgard. When Thor went to speak with Frigga and Odin about his meeting with The Avengers, Loki followed Jane as she made her way to her room.

"Everything go well on Midgard?" he asked casually.

She shrugged. "Yup."

Something happened. She wasn't acting like herself.

"Did anything of interest happen?" he asked.

"Nope."

Loki grit his teeth. "Be ready for me tomorrow morning. Like I said, I'll not go easy on you."

Jane nodded. "Okay."

His eyes narrowed as he fell back and watched Jane head to her room. It was probably seeing her friends that caused her to be a bit subdued. He knew Jane loved her friends and though he personally didn't understand her attachment to them, that didn't mean she didn't have them. He'd give her some time to adjust from visiting Midgard before he became too paranoid that something was amiss.

xxxxxxxx

Jane made her way to the iron chamber that night when it was clear that Thor wasn't going to visit her. No sexy times for Jane and Thor tonight. And here she'd thought they'd gotten to a better place since all of yesterday. It was strange how a day could change so much.

Once inside the chamber, which was utterly empty except for some weapons hanging on the walls, Jane pondered what she should practice. She didn't want to use the weapons yet. She looked down. Rocks. There was rocks on the ground beneath her.

She pondered the two big stones that were nestled together and wondered if she could separate them. If she could lift things and make them move, could she also separate them? She knelt down before them and did her handy dandy hand twist, this time with her middle finger and pointer finger together and said, "Lift." They lifted and floated before her. Sitting back on her heels, she cocked her head to the side and considered the best way to do this. She put her pointer finger and middle finger together and then moved them apart as though giving the peace sign and said, "Separate." They split apart. Jane's breath caught. She wanted to try it on people now.

Okay, now to move them around.

For almost two hours Jane practiced her magick. She was getting better, but still needed to work on it. As all things did, it would take some time and practice. But she felt much better about it now than she had that afternoon after working with Loki.

Loki. Another problem to sort out. She felt a bit guilty for just naturally assuming that he was up to no good, but considering this _was_ Loki and he was usually up to no good, it was a fair assumption to have. The one time when assuming _didn't_ make an ass out of you and me.

However, he had been nice to her thus far – when he wasn't training her anyway. He had made her feel better that night she was aching from her magickal growing pains. Yet how much of that was about helping her and not just an excuse to get closer to her magick? And when she thought back to how her magick had rubbed up against his, it was almost like hers and his were doing a little dance…like they were courting one another.

She wished she could understand her powers as well as she understood her work. She wished Thor and Loki and Odin and even Frigga were as easy to read as her science books. This was their world, not hers. Except now it _was_ hers. She was thrust into this life and it was sink or swim time. She was nothing if not a fighter though. She'd fought the world of astrophysics when they doubted her, laughed at her, and judged her based solely on her sex. Now she was being called to fight again, and not just for Asgard, but for herself. For who she was and what she'd become.

She knew none of them thought her worthy.

Well then. She'd show them all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"You're not even trying!" Loki growled when Jane fell back on her rump for the third time since their lesson started two hours ago.

"I _am_ trying, Loki," Jane growled back. She lay down on the ground, panting and staring up at the sky. If she thought Loki was difficult when trying to train her with her magick, it was nothing compared to how he was with sword training.

He didn't hold back, just as he'd promised. If she was human still, she was sure she would be dead.

"Maybe I should train with the others after all," she said.

"I'm sure that would please Sif. She could beat you to her hearts content and claim it was just 'training'."

She glared at him. "How is it any different than what you're doing now? And why is my magick not protecting me from your assault?"

"Perhaps because it knows I do not wish you real harm."

Her mind boggled. "You don't? Come on, you're enjoying every fall I take, every nick of your sword—"

"I said I wouldn't hold back, but I have. Until you get better at this at least."

"If this is you holding back then just kill me now."

She heard Loki chuckle softly – like a real one, not one of his sarcastic 'you're just an idiot and I'm humoring you' chuckles. That was pretty magickal in and of itself if you asked Jane.

"Come on, Jane. It's time to get up now. You can rest later."

Jane heaved a sigh and climbed to her feet. She grabbed She-Ra and was just getting into position when Loki charged her. She cried out in surprise, held up her hand and shouted, "Stop!"

And then he did. Completely. Mid-motion. His sword was aloft, his mouth open mid-battle cry, legs in mid-run.

Jane slapped a hand over her mouth. Holy crap! She just froze Loki!

"Jane, I've come to see – what is Loki doing?" Thor asked as he approached Jane. He cocked his head to the side as he studied his brother. "How did he do that?"

"He didn't," Jane said. "I did."

Thor's eyes widened. "You did that?"

She smiled meekly. "Surprise. Jane's got a new trick."

"How do you undo it?" Thor asked.

"I don't know. I didn't even know I could do that to begin with."

"Well, what happened?"

"He was charging me before I was even ready and I held up my hand and yelled 'stop' and…he…froze."

"Well that is a handy trick isn't it?" Thor said with a grin. "I mean, I shouldn't laugh…" But he did. They both did.

"I kind of want to take advantage of it," Jane giggled.

Thor looked at her sharply and she rolled her eyes. "Not like that! Geez. I mean, I want to like, I don't know, braid his hair, put a funny hat on him…"

"Slip on one of Mother's dresses over him?" Thor suggested.

Jane giggled and nodded. "How has this not been gifted to anyone before? I feel like knowing Loki the Norns should have been like yeah, someone needs to know how to do this. How many times have we just wanted him to shut the fuck up?"

Thor laughed heartily. "Too many times to count!"

"This is like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one," Jane said as she gazed at frozen Loki. Then she began to feel a teensy bit guilty. What if he could hear them? God, he'd be furious.

It was kind of really worth it.

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "I suppose I should, ya know, undo it."

"Do you think you can?"

"I do," she said, though she wasn't sure. "I was practicing last night in the iron chamber and I have figured out a few things. I think I'm just going to approach this the same way as when I make things levitate."

Thor gestured to her. "Please."

Jane held out her hands, wiggled them, and said, "Move."

Loki, not having the same momentum as before, did move. To the ground.

Jane slapped a hand over her mouth and Thor just grinned down at his brother. "Nice fall, Loki?"

Loki looked around him, startled. "What the bloody hell just happened?"

Jane wiggled her fingers. "I have a new trick. I made you freeze."

Loki glared at her. "Come again?"

She told him what she'd done and then smiled. "I won't lie, it was glorious."

"No doubt you two had a good laugh at my expense," Loki groused.

"Well…yeah," she said and then giggled.

"Is this how you plan to train from now on, Jane? Just freeze me when you don't want to do what I've asked?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Way to suck the joy out of everything, Loki. _No_ , I don't plan to do that every time, but it definitely came in handy – plus, hi, new trick!"

"A new trick that I'm sure you'll soon forget how to do quickly enough just like all your other tricks."

That did it. She was going to kick. His. _Ass._

She felt her magick rush through her and she held She-Ra aloft and let out a battle cry as she charged at Loki. She thrust, he parried, and then he thrust and she parried. They circled each other, Jane just looking for an opening. Not that he gave her any. Then he lunged forward with his sword and she blocked him just as he'd taught her. He looked maniacal – smiling as he was, and his eyes were bright. Jane felt the rush of wanting to bring him down and wipe that smile right off his face. She lifted She-Ra in the air and twirled her, hoping to hell she created wind.

She did. And just before Loki came in contact with her armor she pointed She-Ra at him and yelled, "Go!" Loki flew back and landed with a thud on his back a few feet away.

Her sense of victory didn't last long. Especially when he didn't get up. Jane ran over to him, and let She-Ra clatter to the ground in an attempt to put her hands over Loki and see if he was still breathing. "Loki?" she asked meekly. "Loki!"

He shot up, she screamed, and he tackled back onto the ground. He hovered over her, bracing himself on his arms, his hands on either side of her head. He grinned down at her. "You should always be prepared—" he began, but she cut him off with, "For one final scare."

"I knew that was going to happen," Thor said above them.

Jane looked at Loki. "Well played, Loki."

He just grinned. He knew it.

"But I still managed to knock you down. I get credit for that don't I?" she asked.

"Some, but very little. Must I make you angry every time we spar for you to put what I've taught you to use?"

"Loki, could you please get off Jane now?" Thor interrupted.

Loki and Jane's eyes met as they both, at the same time, seemed to be aware of the fact that he was actually laying between her legs. He sprang up and Jane followed suit. "I need something to eat," she said. "Is lunch ready?"

"Yes," Thor said drily. He held out his arm to Jane. "Shall we?"

She took his arm gladly and they strode off.

Loki hung back and dusted himself off. He hadn't bothered to tell Jane that he had indeed heard every word they'd said while he'd been frozen. He also didn't mention that his magick had almost burst forth to break her enchantment just before she'd released him. Her magick hadn't hurt though. It actually felt rather...nice. Like home…when he felt he even had a home.

It irked him that she was practicing on her own, and that this had seemed to develop after her trip to Midgard. They'd all poisoned her against him and just when he'd had some modicum of trust from her. It bothered him. He'd thought that in some way Jane had seen them as similar now, and that had made her feel bonded to him in some way. Yes, he had planned to exploit that but _she_ didn't know that! Now she was just like the rest of them when it came to trusting him – as in she didn't. Not at all.

He was going to have to do something about that.

xxxxxxxxx

Jane was heading back to meet Loki for the second half of training when she ran, almost literally, into Sif in the hall. Jane didn't know how to proceed with her, and so she just nodded and tried to smile at the warrior.

Sif appeared to be having some sort of internal struggle that was causing her pain. If the look on her face was anything to go by at least. Finally, Sif said, "I know you did not mean to hurt me."

Jane nodded. "That's true."

"Thor has asked me to be respectful of you," Sif said.

That was funny to Jane considering Thor had been Mr. Hot and Cold depending on the moment.

"I will try," Sif said, "But it's hard for me, a true Aesir, to accept this. You're… _mortal_."

"I _was_ mortal."

"Humans should not have this gift, you should not have been given all this."

"So, I'm just wondering – when do we get to the part where you're trying to respect me?" Jane asked.

Sif glared at her. "I never thought you were worthy of Thor."

Jealously flared inside Jane. She's always had that funny feeling regarding Sif's feelings for Thor… "Ah, I see. It's not that I have the power now, it's that I have Thor."

"It's both," Sif said through clenched teeth. "What you can do on Earth? All those things that make you important there? It means nothing here."

"Maybe, but now I have something that does matter, that does make me important." _Even if I am still learning how to use it._

"And you have no idea what to do with it," Sif said with a laugh.

Great, so now Sif was just voicing out loud Jane's doubts. "I'm learning," Jane said. "We all have to start somewhere. I'm sure you didn't pop right out of the womb knowing how to fight."

"Maybe so, but you'll still never be what I am. What the Warriors Three are."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't bet on that, Sif. Please, keep telling me how unworthy and untrained I am because it doesn't make me want to back down at all. It doesn't scare me or fill me with doubt," _Yes it does_ "It just makes me want to do it more and prove to you exactly why the Norns gifted me with all this. So go on, please. Tell me how pathetic I am."

Sif's mouth pursed together and she looked like she either wanted to say something or knock Jane out. Probably both. Jane almost wanted her to, just to have some reason to flatten her. But then Sif stalked off without a word.

"I'm impressed."

Jane rolled her eyes. Of course Loki had seen that exchange between her and Sif. She spun to face him. "You know what, Loki? You are the king of something."

He arched a brow. "Jane."

"The King of Lurking. Of Spying. Of just having to be privy to every private conversation."

"I'm sorry – that was a private conversation? You're standing in the middle of the hall in the _palace_. If you wanted privacy, you could have found a better, let's say a more _private_ place to do it?"

Jane growled. She had never growled in her life. Leave it Loki to bring it out of her. She moved closer to him and pointed her finger in his face. "I'm onto you, buddy."

"Are you now?" Loki purred and tilted his head to the side. "What is it I am doing that you are 'onto' me about?"

"I haven't figured it out yet, but I will."

"Or you've just been listening to what others have been saying about me and not listening to yourself, Jane," he said. He looked a bit hurt, too. Fake? Real? Jane wasn't sure. "When Thor turned his back on you that very first day, who was there to support you?"

"Seeing as how you dared me to lift Mjolnir in the first place I'd say you owed me," Jane muttered.

"Jane, come now. I never pegged you as one to blame others for your actions."

"No, that's really more your deal isn't it?"

Now he looked like he was going to kill her. Jane looked at him challengingly. Her argument with Sif had left her ripe for a fight.

The moment Jane saw Loki lift his hand she knew he was going to blasting her with something. She lifted She-Ra instinctively and the green ball of energy that came from Loki's fingertips and hit She-Ra was morphed into…

Well. Uh…

 _Azaleas._

What the fuck?

Loki looked horrified and Jane was just thoughtful. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that's not what you meant to happen?" she asked.

"Not one bit," he murmured.

"So what do you think happened?"

Loki just looked at her, lips pursed together. "New trick perhaps?"

But his wheels were turning, Jane could see it in his eyes. "Do you want to try again?" she asked.

"Not at the moment, no."

Okay, she would have thought he'd have been all over that. What was going on in that devious brain of his?

"Come, we have more work to do," he said and all but ran towards the gardens. Jane sighed and followed wondering what his deal was. He had to know that something was up with her. He wasn't being so… _giving_ today. If that was even a word one could use in conjunction with Loki. Well, yes, it was. He certainly _gave_ her the sense that he was up to something.

Hmm…maybe she could figure out what it was without Thor's help.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you, Imogen74 for your help! :)**

 **Chapter Nine**

Loki heard the snick of Jane's door open and he looked up from the book he'd been reading against one of the pillars in the hall. His invisibility spell was firmly in place so he knew there was no chance of Jane, or anyone else, seeing him.

He fought the urge to smile as she poked her head out and looked up and down the hall for anyone that could see her – like him – sneaking out of her room so late in the night. It was quite annoying how she could make him smile. Oftentimes without even trying.

He climbed to his feet and lifted his hand with the book in it. It disappeared between the folds and space and time and probably landed somewhere on his bed. He followed Jane as she made her way down the hall, She-Ra grasped tightly in her hand. How she clung to that sword. It had become what she called her favorite ratty blanket on Midgard: her security blanket.

Loki considered She-Ra and the magick that sword contained. Earlier, when she'd been so insolent, he had wanted to frighten her and remind her that he'd been around longer and had more experience. Not just with magick, but in dealing with Odin and Thor. Who did she think she was to call him out on his behavior? He only let his mother get away with such things.

When he'd sent out his magick to her, he'd meant to pin her to the pillar behind her like one of those birds he'd seen in display cases in a museum on Midgard. Yet the instant his magick had collided with her sword, flowers had erupted like a surge of arrows on a battlefield. It made no sense. Was it simply the sword? Her magick? Both? How in the world had his magick been defused to easily? It made no sense.

With his hands behind his back, Loki followed Jane leisurely out the palace, down the stone walkway that led down to the shore and then off the path to the iron chamber. He understood why Thor had suggested it for a place to practice. It was out of the way and hidden from sight. No one would see her practicing unless they were looking for her.

He slipped in the door that she only half closed and, with arms folded, watched her work.

She muttered to herself as her hands moved furiously about. He watched her lift stones from the ground, move them about, and attempt to control how fast they moved through the air. When one stone hit the wall of the chamber, her frustration was written all over her face.

Loki felt something he didn't often feel: impressed. It was odd to him; foreign. A little mortal such as Jane Foster had impressed him – not with her power, but with her dedication to mastering it. And oh, what power it was. He could feel it as keenly as if she'd blasted him with it. It felt so…sweet. Troubling, that. Nothing about him had ever been described as "sweet".

The sound of something heavy drew Loki out of his magick-induced stupor and his eyes went as wide as Jane's as she managed to move a scabbard off the wall. She wiggled her fingers and it hurtled towards her and Loki actually found himself surging forward, intent on protecting her when she flicked her wrist up and commanded it to stop. It did. It floated in the air above her, ready to descend at her command.

She moved out of the way, pointed her finger down and it clattered to the ground. She stood there, her hands on her hips, her hair down around her shoulders and a smile playing on her lips. She looked proud. Accomplished.

Beautiful.

Loki's lips pursed together, and he felt a surge of anger at her for making him think that. She was, of course, oblivious, but he wanted to punish her for it just the same.

A sound outside the chamber alerted him that they were not alone and Loki's eyes narrowed as he crept out the chamber.

Sif.

The warrior goddess looked displeased and Loki realized that Sif had watched along with him for a while before Loki had heard her. It irked him that she had been able to slip under his radar and he blamed Jane for that as well. If he hadn't been bewitched watching – wait. Bewitched? No. Curious. He had been _curious_. He had come out here on a mission to discover just how far she was getting with her magick since she was just all of a sudden keeping that from him, and his watching her had been him sizing up her abilities. There was no bewitching of any sort going on.

And he certainly felt nothing knowing that Sif had been spying on Jane as well. It didn't bother him in the least that Sif could have come in the chamber, plucked a weapon off the wall, and gone after Jane with no one the wiser. Not at all. Besides, Jane could protect herself with that sword and her power. She didn't protection.

He would instead think of how Sif just kept helping him further form his plan of driving that wedge between Thor and Jane…

xxxxxxxx

Jane was just starting to drift off after a long practice in the iron chamber when she heard the sound of someone moving about in her room. She bolted upright. "Thor?" she whispered. She reached for the lamp on the bedside table when she felt a hand grab her roughly and yank her to the floor.

Okay, so, not Thor.

Jane rolled onto her stomach, wincing as pain shot through her back from the fall, and reached for She-Ra. Whomever was in the room with her yanked at her legs, pulling her away from her sword.

Fear bubbled up inside her and Jane felt frantic. She had to do something, she had to protect herself. She needed She-Ra and couldn't get to her –

She was flipped onto her back and pinned back to the floor by her shoulders. Jane used her legs and kicked up. She heard a grunt as whomever was attacking her was sent off of her. To where, Jane could not see.

 _Magick, magick, please come to me_! she thought frantically.

She saw the figure of the other person rise up and stand, walking slowly over to her. Whomever it was, they were tall. Lean.

Jane felt wind at her feet, at her hips, chest - the whirlwind! She held out her hand and shouted, "Go!" and whomever it was flung back against the wall. She heard the hard thump against the wall, heard them fall to the ground. Jane grabbed She-Ra, her magick still humming, the wind still swirling, and she held up her sword and – and they ran out of her room! Jane started after them and in the light of the hall that poured into her room she caught sight of –

Oh, God. Long dark hair.

Sif's hair.

Oh, _hell_ no. Jane ran out into the hall, but they (she?) were gone.

"You bitch!" Jane shouted. "You fucking coward!"

The wind swirled harder, picking up speed in her anger.

"Jane!" Thor came running down the hall.

"What the bloody hell—?" Loki was right behind him. He stopped when he saw the whirlwind. "Oh, dear."

Then Frigga and Odin came. Frigga looked concerned. Odin looked pissed.

The Warriors Three and then, finally, Sif came next.

"Jane, calm yourself," Loki said gently and strode toward her, unafrad. "You're inside and your magick is going to hurt—"

Jane lifted her sword and pointed it at Sif with the intent to send her flying. And she did. Right against a pillar.

"Jane!" Thor shouted – more like _thundered._ The snap of lightening crackled in the air as Mjolnir slapped into his hand. He held it to Jane and her eyes widened. Was he seriously going to use that on her?

"Thor, stop, calm down and see to Sif," Frigga said gently and placed a hand on her son's arm.

"Jane, look at me," Loki instructed.

She felt him pull her toward him, her magick still swirling about her, calmer now though. She looked up at him, blinked. She thought she might be in shock.

"Jane, ground it. Focus on sending it to the ground," Loki murmured, taking her face in his hands.

"What?" she asked, feeling dazed.

"Your magick," he said. "Breathe…focus on me and breathe."

Jane inhaled and exhaled, following Loki's lead. Finally, her magick settled and dissipated.

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Odin demanded.

Jane looked at him then at Sif and Thor. Thor was holding Sif's hands and they were talking quietly together. Tears stung Jane's eyes. "She attacked me," Jane said. "Sif attacked me. I saw her."

Everyone froze collectively and looked at her.

"Jane, dear, are you sure?" Frigga asked gently.

"I saw her hair. I _know_ that hair," Jane said.

"You can't blame her for an attack on your person based on _hair_ ," Thor snapped.

"Like she hasn't had it in for me?" Jane snapped back. "Just this afternoon she was going on about how I'm nothing here. She admitted that I wasn't worthy enough for _you –_ you… you giant dumbass!"

"You're jumping to conclusions based on what you think you saw," Thor said. He sounded a tad calmer now, but not by much.

"I didn't attack you," Sif spat. "You're not worth that."

"Fuck you, you fucking bitch!" Jane hollered and started to go after her. Loki stayed her by grabbing her arm and yanking her back against him.

Odin looked at her menacingly. "Jane Foster, control yourself or you'll be sent to the dungeons!"

Jane clamped her mouth shut, but her heart was pounding fast and she felt her magick begin to rise up again…

"Let's go outside for a breather," Loki said to her in her ear. "You can tell me what happened."

"I will join you," Frigga said and Loki all but dragged Jane out of the palace with Frigga close behind.

Once outside in the cool night air, Jane burst into tears. "Someone attacked me, Loki. I know it was her, I know it – I saw her hair and she hates me. She all but admitted it today. You heard her! You heard the whole thing!"

"I did," Loki said gravely. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He looked troubled. "And I…I saw her tonight."

"What?" Jane asked at the same time Frigga placed a hand on his arm. "What do you mean by that, my son?"

Loki looked pained as he looked at his mother and then at Jane. "I followed Jane tonight to the iron chamber."

"You what?!" Jane exploded. "What do you mean you followed me? How did you even know—"

"I was in the library tonight and as I was leaving I saw you going outside. I was curious as to what you were up to and followed you."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "And you didn't bother to say anything?"

"No, because you've been hiding something from me lately and I thought perhaps wherever you were going would tell me what it was," he told her. "Ever since you came back from Midgard you've been acting strangely. I wanted to know what you were about."

Jane pursed her lips together. "Go on, Loki," Frigga encouraged him.

"I hid so you wouldn't see me," he continued. "And I watched you. I saw Sif come upon the chamber as well. I said nothing, didn't let her know I was there. I wanted to see what she was going to do, if anything, before I intervened. She left and I thought perhaps she had come to train alone and when she saw you she decided to leave."

"This of course does not prove anything," Frigga said. "Although it does not look good either."

"How long did you stick around?" Jane asked Loki, folding her arms across her chest. The whirlwind kept at her feet, swirling, but losing momentum.

"Not long," Loki admitted. He sighed. "Jane, I just wanted to understand why you weren't being honest with me. Something was going on with you and since I am your trainer I thought it important to know if there is to be trust between us."

"Trust? _Trust?_ With _you_?" Jane exploded. "Are you _fucking_ kidding me right now?"

His expression darkened. "I have done nothing but try to help you, Jane Foster, which is more than I can say for your supposed lover who was about ready to use Mjolnir on you to protect Sif!"

The reminder of what Thor had been willing to do to her stung. How he'd jumped to Sif's defense and didn't even bother to get to the bottom of what had been done...

He was looking for any excuse, Jane realized. Any excuse to distance himself from her because he just couldn't handle what she had become. She had thought it would get better with time but now…? How could she unsee him willing to use his hammer against her? All to protect that bitch who had attacked her.

"Jane, my dear," Frigga said soothingly and drew Jane in for a hug. Jane buried her face in Frigga's shoulder and let it out. How long had it been since all this had happened? 48 hours, give or take? Why did it feel like a lifetime ago? She and Thor had been happy – really happy! And then she'd lifted his hammer on a stupid fucking dare and he'd turned on her.

It made her feel as though everything before that had been a lie. Here she thought they had a relationship based on trust and respect when really it had just been about…what? What had it even been about?

"Jane, are you well?" Ah, so _now_ he checked on her.

Jane moved away from Frigga and faced Thor. She looked up at him, chin raised in defiance, and slapped him hard across the face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Jane sat at the edge of her bed the following morning with her leg jiggling up and down up and down up and down. The events of the night before turned over and over in her mind. From Sif attacking her to Loki admitting to spying on her and then _then_ , fucking _Thor_ turning on her –

She swallowed back a cry.

Here she was in fucking _space_ with _powers_ and an immortal life –

Jesus fuck. She was _immortal_. She was going to live for _ever_.

Darcy and Erik were going to die one day and there'd she be, still living. On _Asgard_. Could she ever leave Asgard? Could she travel the world? Could she return to Earth as a mortal and visit and maybe do her work still? Did she have to be tethered to this godforsaken planet – Realm – whatever the fuck it was?

God, she was swearing a lot in her head.

Okay, no. She didn't have to be stuck here on Asgard. She didn't have to stay and fight for a planet – Realm – whatever-the-fuck-it-was – and be miserable. She was human just a few days ago. She belonged to Earth, not Midgard because what the fuck was a Mid-gard? She belonged to _Earth_ because she was _human_. She wanted to fight for Earth not for Asgard because she didn't _care_ about Asgard.

She'd – she'd be an Avenger or something if the Norns didn't take her power away due to her sheer hope and will that they would just return her back to normal.

But she wanted to keep She-Ra. Just cause her sword was kind of cool and awesome and hi, it was a _sword_.

Jane got up and found the clothes she'd been wearing when she'd arrived on Asgard. The clothes she'd been wearing on _Earth._ She slipped on her jeans which felt wonderful and her t-shirt which felt even better than wonderful, and then shoved on her red boots because they were _her_ red boots and she loved them.

She grabbed She-Ra and stalked out of her room and down to the bridge. Breakfast wasn't for a while – she'd been up all night unable to sleep after Loki had escorted her back to her bedroom and ordered her to calm down.

That was rich coming from him. She'd flung Sif against a pillar and slapped Thor when she was pissed, Loki had _killed people and tried to take over Earth_ during one of his little snits. Hello, Loki? This is the pot. You're black.

Fuck Asgard, fuck Odin, fuck Loki, fuck Thor and double fuck Sif. Not fuck Frigga though. She liked Frigga. You had to be a monster not to love the shit out of that Goddess.

"Jane Foster," Heimdall said without turning his head.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can see everything blah blah blah that's fantastic. I want to go home. Send me home to Erik."

"Do you think that's wise?"

"Yes, I do. I do think that's wise. You know why? Because if you don't send me home I'm going to lay waste to Asgard. You don't want that do you, Heimy?"

"You would not do that, Jane Foster."

"Why do you have to call me by my full name? What is the deal with that on this planet? Just sent me home, please!"

After a long moment of silence in which Jane thought she was going to have to resort to something extreme even though she had no idea what that could possibly be, the Bifrost opened and she was beamed off to Earth.

She landed on the balcony and dropped to the floor. She sprawled out on her stomach, placing She-Ra beside her and just rested her cheek on the cool stone of the balcony. She loved Earth. She was never leaving Earth again.

"Uh, Jane?"

Jane looked up to see Tony Stark and Steve looking down at her as though she'd gone mad. She probably had. "Hi," she said. "Just give me a moment."

"Uh…are you sick?" Steve asked.

"No, I just – I really love it here. I mean, not just Earth – and I love Earth, it's home, ya know? But here. At Erik's. It's home."

Tony mimed drinking to Steve and Jane rolled her eyes. "I haven't been drinking, Tony."

"Is Thor coming?" Steve asked and looked up at the sky.

Jane rolled over and sat up and glared at Steve. "No, the big bumbling jackass will _not_ be coming. I'm so _very_ sorry to disappoint you."

"Hey, hey, now, who says we're disappointed?" Tony said and squatted down beside her. "I'm not disappointed. Are you disappointed, Steve?"

"Not at all," Steve said quickly.

Tony reached out and patted Jane's head. "What's going on Princess of Power? You feeling okay? How's Endora treating you?"

"Endora – _Asgard_ – sucks. I hate it. I'm staying here. I'm going to be like, ya know, Wonder Woman or something. I mean I don't want to encroach on her territory or anything, but maybe I could have my own thing. I mean, maybe I could actually call myself She-Ra and have someone sew me her outfit – she doesn't really exist, right?"

Tony and Steve just looked at each other.

"Where's Erik and Darcy?" she asked.

"They ran to the lab to get something. We stayed behind…" Steve said.

"Did the big bumbling jackass by any chance tell you about how we thought you'd maybe make a great asset to the Avengers team?" Tony asked.

Jane looked at Tony. Blinked. Then looked up at the sky and screamed at the top of her lungs. And as she screamed, all of Erik's potted plants around her lifted high into the air. When she finally stopped screaming, they dropped and crashed upon floor. The terra cotta shattering gave Jane a sense of satisfaction.

She looked at Tony.

"You're absolutely right," Tony said. "We definitely need to get a drink."

xxxxxxxxx

"It's a good thing we're in New York. I don't think very many places will let you take a sword into their establishment," Tony said an hour later while he, Steve, and Jane were sitting in a darkened bar. It was afternoon in New York, but it was perpetually five o' clock somewhere for Tony and Jane really did need a drink or two or a hundred. She wondered how her constitution was now. As a human she had been a lightweight.

Steve had a Coke.

"It's a good thing you're an Avenger," Jane countered. "I think they only let me bring in my sword on account of that."

"So, I take it Thor didn't tell you about becoming an Avenger?" Steve asked.

"No, because why would he want me encroaching in on something else in his life? It's bad enough I lifted Mjolnir and got She-Ra and all these powers that I can only control half the time, but to join the Avengers? I mean I'm nothing but a mortal—"

"Well, you were," Steve said matter-of-factly. "You're not anymore."

Jane's eyes welled up in tears. "You know what they should call you, Steve? Captain Obvious. I know I'm not mortal anymore, that's part of my problem!"

Tony held up his hand and signaled for the bartender to bring over more shots. "You're not wasted enough yet to start crying," he said.

"Everyone hates me on Asgard. Who says I have to stay there? Who says I'm an Aesir? Maybe I just have super powers – maybe it wasn't The Norns, maybe it was something else. I really think I could sell this She-Ra theory—"

"Janie, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you and Thor had a fight," Tony said. "Why don't you tell Uncle Tony all about it?"

So, she did. She spilled everything from Loki daring her to lift Mjolnir to that very moment where she was holed up in some sketchy bar taking shots of tequila. She might as well have been taking shots of water for all it was affecting her.

"Do the Norns have a website?" she asked. "They should. With an FAQ section." She lowered her voice, "If you should find yourself with magick quite suddenly, here's what you can expect. Are you now immortal? Purchase our helpful kit on how to make a smooth transition."

She downed another shot and thought – finally, finally! she was starting to feel it.

"Things like that don't just happen here," Jane continued. "On Earth you'd have to sign a contract for something that big. You'd have to read all the fine print about what happens when your boyfriend decides you're good enough to fuck but not good enough to lift his fucking hammer. And a hammer? Really? A _hammer_? Can we all agree that a hammer is a stupid weapon?"

Tony raised his hand. "I can."

"I don't care about stupid Asgard," Jane said with a pout.

"Now I know that's not true," Steve said.

Jane glared at him. "Shuddup, Steve. Drink your Coke."

Steve shifted in his seat and looked at Tony expectantly.

Tony just beamed at Jane.

"I hate them all, I really seriously do. Except for Frigga," Jane said. "She's a gosh darn delight. But Odin? Pfft. Fuck that guy. He's _such_ an ass! No wonder Loki is so fucked up."

"Speaking of…what about him? Do you like Loki?" Tony asked with a little grin.

Jane made a face and knocked back another shot. Where were they even coming from? "Depends on the day," she replied. "Or what he's just said. Or done." She mulled it over. "I like him when he's sleeping."

"That sounds about right," Steve muttered.

"Janie, listen to me now. You ready? You're about to get advice," Tony said. "From me. I'm usually pretty horrific at it."

"Usually?" Steve piped up. "Try consistently."

Tony ignored him. "What you need to do is forget about Thor, Odin, Sif – the whole lot of them. You've been given something that some people would literally kill to have. It is a gift. You want to protect the Earth? Please do. We could use you. You want to protect Asgard and keep it your dirty little secret because you don't want anyone to actually think you like that goofy little Realm? Have at it. But do not, under any circumstances, let this gift go to waste. Who cares what Sif thinks? Who cares what Thor thinks? They are just background noise to this new life that you've been given. Screw them and do what Jane Foster does when her back is against the wall time and again."

"What's that?" Jane asked in wonderment.

Tony smiled. "The right thing. You, Janie, always do the right thing."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually agree with Tony," Steve said.

"You know who you kind of just sounded like just then?" Jane asked.

Tony shrugged. "Who?"

"Loki. He said something similar to me the other day."

Now Tony looked horrified. "That makes me nervous."

"Right? I mean, how screwed up is life when Loki starts making sense and gives good advice?" Jane asked. She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. "But guys, iss not even that. Iss that Thor doesn' love me anymore. He can't assept what I've become. And he believed that twiggy bitch over me! Why iss that?"

"Ah, and here we have it," Steve said. "The root of the problem. Janie's got a broken heart."

"We are no stranger to that, my friend," Tony said and took a shot.

"No we are not," Steve said and sipped his Coke.

"So, whad do I do?" Jane asked.

"You drink now, sleep it off later, and then when you wake up, you decide," Tony said. "No decisions need to be made right this second. Okay?"

Jane nodded. "Okay. I finally feel the alco – alco – the liquor. How many have I even had?"

"Twenty."

xxxxxxxxxx

Loki heard Jane before he actually saw her. She was singing. Quite terribly, too. The door burst open and a falling over Jane with one arm around Tony's neck came through the door. Steve was carrying She-Ra and came up behind them. Jane continued to sing:

"Let it go, let it go  
I am one with the wind and sky  
Let it go, let it go  
You'll never see me cry!"

She stopped abruptly at the sight of him. "Loki! Hey guys, look! It's Loki!" Jane unwound her arms from Tony and stumbled forward. Loki caught her before she fell over. She gripped his tunic as though she needed it to keep herself upright. His nose wrinkled. She smelled awful, like she'd spent all day in one of Asgard's pubs.

"Where's Erik?" she asked.

"He saw me and left," Loki sighed. "Then Darcy Lewis. I've been waiting for you to return."

"I better go find Erik," Steve muttered and left.

"You sticking around, Trickster?" Tony asked.

Loki shot him a look and then looked down at Jane who was smiling at him in a peculiar way. It was actually making him nervous. "It appears I am for the time being," he replied.

"Why don't you take Janie to a hotel – my treat – since her apartment currently has a Thor-sized hole in it that needs repairing."

"Will do," Loki murmured, unable to take his eyes off Jane. What was she about?

"You know how you're always wanting to piss off Thor and your brother?" she asked him.

He frowned. He started to tell her that Thor and his brother were the same person, but then figured eh, why bother?

"Well," she said. "I think I know how." And then Jane Foster kissed Loki full on the mouth.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

 _Jane is kissing me._

 _Tony Stark is inches away._

 _Jane is kissing me._

 _Her lips are soft._

 _What does she think she's doing?_

 _Ugh. She tastes like she drank an entire pub._

These were the thoughts Loki had running through his mind seconds before he grabbed her by the arms and thrust her back from him. She looked a bit dazed. And then she threw up on his boots.

Loki looked at Tony who smirked. "Did I happen to mention she had thirty shots of tequila?"

Loki let out a long-suffering sigh. "Lovely."

xxxxxxx

 _Gilmore Girls_ was on but Loki was barely paying attention to it. It was all Jane's fault he was so distracted and worse of all actually _worried_ about her.

Shortly after she'd thrown up on his boots and then cleaned herself up, she had passed out on the couch in Erik's apartment. He hadn't just wanted to leave her there especially considering he was pretty sure Erik Selvig would be coming back to his apartment and Loki would be forcibly removed from the premises by Tony and Captain Bloody America. So, Tony helped him gather Jane up, put her in one of Tony's cars and take them to a nearby hotel. He told Loki to behave and Loki had growled that he had no intention to molest Jane in her sleep or any other time.

"That's not all I mean when I say behave," Tony had told him. "You're in my city now, buddy."

Loki knew. He knew all too well. He would not be making any waves today, nor any in the near future. Not on Earth anyway. Or, at least not yet. But perhaps one day he could try -

Jane let out a sound that sounded like a snorting bilgsnipe about to charge and he looked at her in disgust. He looked up at the ceiling. "Far be it from me to question The Norns, but…really?"

Jane snorted again and then shifted on the hotel bed. The hotel bed in which she was sprawled right across leaving no room for Loki to lay his head should he have wanted to. He almost did just out of principle of the thing – who did she think she was to take up the entire bed? – but he was fine on the couch.

If only he could stop this annoying worrisome feeling he had that she'd somehow hurt herself by drinking so much. Her constitution was not the same as a mortal's any longer, but he also knew that her Aesir self was still integrating.

"Loki," she said hoarsely.

Relieved that she was awake, but concerned by how awful she sounded, Loki went over to her and down beside her. She waved for him to come closer, and when she did she pulled him down by his tunic and whispered, "Kill. Me."

Loki rolled his eyes and batted her hands away. He sat up and looked down his nose at her. "That's what you get for drinking as you did."

She moaned. "Thanks, _Dad_."

"Did it solve your problems?"

Without moving her head off the pillow that he'd placed under her head thank-you-very-much-Jane-Foster, she glared at him with one eye looking up at him. "Loki, seriously, I don't think you have a leg to stand on when it comes to shit people do when they're pissed off. I would again like to refer to the Frost Giants that invaded Asgard when you were pissed at Thor and your father. Then the Destroyer to keep Thor from coming home. Then—"

"I got it, Jane," Loki snapped.

"No one got hurt but me by – oh my God, did I really kiss you?"

Did she have to look so horrified? Did he have to feel so insulted that she looked so horrified? He curled his lip. "Yes."

She sighed and shut her eyes. "I'm sorry."

No one had ever apologized to Loki before. He had certainly never apologized to anyone before and he found himself at a loss as to what to say or do.

She opened her eye. "Did I really puke on your boots, too?"

He nodded.

"I'm sorry about that, too. Are they ruined?"

He shook his head and she rolled over onto her back. Her shirt rode up exposing her belly and Loki's gaze drifted there. And stayed there.

He got up off the bed quickly and walked away from her. "Is this what I can come to expect from you? This is not the behavior of a warrior—"

"I'm not a fucking warrior!" she shouted. "I'm Jane Foster, an astrophysicist from Earth!"

"Not anymore you're not. It's well past time that you accepted that."

Silence.

Loki looked over at her. She hadn't moved. Her stomach was still showing.

He opened his mouth to speak when she cut him off. "Do you believe me that Sif attacked me?"

"Yes," he said without having to think about it. And he didn't have to think about it because he'd disguised himself as Sif to make her think that Sif had indeed attacked her.

"Why doesn't Thor?" she whispered and her voice cracked. Oh, bother. Was she going to cry again?

"Because he and Sif have known each other a long time and as much as he believes himself honorable, he also believes that she is as well. It is not honorable to attack someone unguarded and unprepared. It gave you an unfair advantage."

"Are you saying that it was okay to have attacked me, but just not in my sleep?" She sounded outraged.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Jane Foster, must you put words in my mouth?"

She sighed and now her hand rested on her stomach. Loki stared at it. Her lips had been soft. How would – _no_.

"Were you sent to fetch me?"

"Yes," he said.

"I don't want to go back. That's not my home. This is my home."

Loki sighed and rubbed his forehead. He sat back down beside her on the bed. She looked up at him. Her amber eyes looking sad. Everything about her looked sad at the moment. Her hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, she smelled a bit rank, too. This was not the same Jane he'd found practicing her magick in the iron chamber. This Jane was defeated.

Heartbroken.

And since he was the cause of this heartbreak, he supposed he should cut her some slack.

"Jane, I understand that you are upset by the unfortunate turn of events—"

"Unfortunate?!" Jane exclaimed and was up on her knees in the middle of the bed in a flash. Her t-shirt was now hanging low over her shoulders. Loki could see the top swell of her breasts. He couldn't unsee them, and apparently he was having difficulty looking away.

What was _wrong_ with him?

"Unfortunate is when you forget your license at home and get pulled over by a cop. Unfortunate is when you forget the configurations you need in order to read data. Unfortunate is not having enough money on you at the grocery store. What happened last night was not unfortunate, Loki. It was – it was—" She lifted her hands and balled them into fists. She growled and shook her fists. "I don't have the words for what last night was, but my _boyfriend_ was about to use his fucking hammer on me! He didn't believe me when I told him what happened. He believed _her_! That is not _unfortunate_ that is some kind of bullshit!"

Loki could not take his eyes off of her. The way her cheeks reddened, the flashing amber of her eyes, the power he could feel bubbling up inside her – Jane Foster was glorious when she was angry.

"Jane, Thor does not deserve you."

The words left his mouth unbidden, without any thought behind them. This did not sit well with Loki because what he said, he actually _meant._ In fact, he was loathe to admit that he had always thought Thor and Jane a mismatch. Her passion and her work – it had never made sense that she and Thor would connect as they did. He wondered if it was just circumstance. If it was just because she was not as…well, soft as Darcy Lewis.

She didn't look convinced though and that irked Loki. One of the few times he actually meant what he said and she didn't believe him! His eyes darted back to her chest.

"I don't want to go back," she said. "There is nothing for me on Asgard."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. What is there for me, Loki? A few more sessions of you kicking my ass? Thor acting like a toddler because I dared touch his precious Mjolnir and end up with more powers than he has? Him protecting another woman and that woman acting all smug?" Her bottom lip started to quiver. "No. There is nothing there for me. Why should I stay and fight for a planet that doesn't even want me?"

"What if I said I want you?" he asked softly. He was going to have to sell this one hard. Jane was a ball of emotion right now, her logic had abandoned her in the face of Thor's betrayal and her post drunken stupor. So, he needed to appeal to her emotions.

"You don't want me there either, Loki," she said softly.

"Aside from my mother you're the only one that has magick. The only one I can talk to about what that means and share the things I can do."

Jane still didn't look convinced.

"It's nice," he said, and then he hesitated because he was about to say something else he meant. "It's nice to be able to have someone else that can do magick. That is excited about it. When I saw you working in the iron chamber you were beaming, Jane. You looked positively thrilled with what you could do. I saw it on your face and in your eyes. You love it. You just don't want the responsibility that comes with it."

She nodded in agreement.

"You saved my mother," he said softly. He meant this, too. "I might not understand the Norns and their decision to make you one of us, but they did. They saw something in you that we have failed to overlook. I come back to the fact that you saved my mother." Loki felt a surge of emotion that made his skin feel tight at the thought of anything having happened to Frigga.

He felt Jane's small hand on his knee and he stared at that small hand. That small hand with so much power pulsing through it. That small hand attached to such a small woman with a fractured iron will and a broken heart - both of which he'd caused.

He didn't like this feeling inside of him. He didn't like this feeling responsible for her well-being and knowing that he'd disrupted that by what he'd done in making her think Sif had attacked her.

He looked at her and tried to battle down his revulsion at this – this – _guilt_. This guilt that she had made him feel. She mistook the anger and disgust that he naturally presumed was showing on his face for something else and moved closer to him. She hugged him.

Loki's eyes went wide. A hug. When was the last time he'd been hugged? Not even Frigga had hugged him in recent memory. And here was Jane Foster currently a shell of a woman, a warrior that had no desire to fight, and she was comforting _him._

She moved away before he could shove her off him. She climbed off the bed and sighed as she looked at him. "Your Mom is a wonderful Goddess. I love your Mom," she said. "But I still don't want to go back to Asgard."

She walked away from him and into the bathroom. He heard the lock slide in place – like that could keep him out if he wanted to get in – and then the shower turned on a second later.

Loki knew he should be thinking about how to get Jane back to Asgard, but his mind, for once, was a blank when it came to a plan and what manipulation he could use. All he could think about was how it felt to have her hug him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Loki felt at a loss. A first for him, and not a welcome feeling. He was used to being several steps ahead of others. Some of the things he'd managed to pull off he'd done because he paid attention to others and could anticipate their reactions. Not much in his world wasn't orchestrated by him for his benefit.

And then Jane Foster came along.

He liked to think he'd had her pretty much figured out. For the most part at least. Then she'd lifted Mjolnir and Loki found that had all gone to Hel. A few things he'd been able to manipulate and anticipate, but her taking off to Midgard and then refusing to leave even after how he'd said he was grateful to her for saving Frigga, and how Thor wasn't worthy of her. He had told the _truth._ That wasn't a common occurrence, and she should have then done what he'd come to Midgard for and left with him. But no. She had apologized to him, _hugged_ him, and still refused to leave.

He stewed. She slept, oblivious.

Morning came and she was up and getting ready for the day, telling him he may as well return to Asgard because she wasn't returning with him.

He wanted to shake her. He wanted to just grab her and shout for Heimdall to open the Bifrost and send them back home, but stubborn Jane Foster would just return again. Free will was such a nuisance.

"I will not leave without you," he told her matter-of-factly, when he really felt anything but. "As long as you are here then I will be as well."

She just stared at him. "But you hate Earth."

"Yes, I do, but the fact remains that as long as you are here then so am I. Tell me, is there somewhere we can train?"

She looked annoyed. Good. She should be annoyed. He hoped she stewed in it just as he had. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "I don't know."

"Well, then find out. It wouldn't do to let the small progress we made go to waste."

"Small progress? Watch it, Loki, or I'll freeze you where you stand again."

He glared at her. "I see someone is feeling a bit more confident in her abilities than she did before. I wouldn't suggest getting ahead of yourself, Jane. Let's not forget that you're still a novice. I've had centuries to perfect my magick."

"And exactly what has it gotten you?"

In a burst of frustration with her, Loki shot out a bit of his magick. She wasn't prepared and it sent her stumbling back on her arse. "Remember. Your. Place," he spat. "Do not attempt to push me, Jane. You'll not win."

There was a challenge in her eyes and Loki found he hoped she'd retaliate. If he was the begging sort, he would do just that. Anything to purge the frustration he felt since last night. The apology for kissing him, the hugging, the making him feel guilty, the way she'd made him _notice_ her – he wanted to make her pay for that.

But it looked like she wasn't going to do a thing. She instead marched over to bed and sat down, jamming her shoes on her feet and tying them so hard he was certain the laces would snap.

He shook his head at her, fists clenched and turned away. He told himself he would not egg her on to make a move. But then, as it turned out, he didn't have to.

He felt the blast of her magick and before he could react, he pitched forward, stumbling and nearly falling. He growled and whipped around and found her smirking at him with an arched brow.

"What can I say?" she said. "I've learned from the best. Isn't your best trick to strike when no one is paying any attention?"

"Among others," he drawled. And then he made himself multiply. The room filled with several version of himself and he could see her confidence falter. She lifted her hand and sent out a whirlwind, it was white and shining and it ran through every version of himself. When it hit him, he stumbled again.

Irritated, he shot out a blast of his energy and this time she was ready for him. She moved her sword in the direction of his blast and he shot out another that swept her feet right out from under her. The first blast missed her and slammed into the nightstand behind her. It fell over and the lamp and alarm clock that was on it fell with a crash to the floor.

Now she was angry. He could see it all over face. He grinned. She wiggled her fingers and he looked around the room, wondering what she was sending his way. She'd lifted something, he knew it.

Then he felt it. What had been a bucket of ice and was now just water poured over his head. She laughed. He roared. He shot out another bolt and she lifted She-Ra. This time when their magick combined, a loud boom sounded, almost like a gunshot, and then his green and her white and pink energy popped and fizzed and then disappeared.

"It's like a sparkler!" Jane exclaimed.

And then there was a pounding on the door and someone shouting, "What the hell are you doing in there?!"

"Great, now we're in trouble," Jane muttered. "This is all your fault."

"My fault? How is this my fault?"

"You started it! You knocked over the night stand!"

"You dumped water over my head!"

"Go back to Asgard!"

"No!"

The door was flung open and Tony came waltzing through, looking both annoyed and concerned. He looked Jane over, noted the fallen over nightstand then the ice bucket and wet spot on the floor and sighed. "All right. What the hell? Your neighbors are complaining and the staff is afraid to come in here. Did I just hear a _gun_ go off?"

At the same time Jane and Loki pointed at each other. Loki yelled, "She started it!" while Jane yelled, "He started it!"

Tony frowned. "That's it. You're both in a time-out." He looked at Jane. "I expected better from you, Foster."

"He brings it out in me," Jane grumbled. "If you'll excuse me, I am finally going to do what I came here initially to do and see Erik. I'll pay for damages."

"Don't worry about it," Tony said, eyeing Loki in a manner that Loki did not like. He held out a hand to Jane to stop her in her tracks and then pointed at her. "Come see me later?"

She nodded and then marched out of the room, She-Ra gripped firmly in her hand.

Loki waved a hand the nightstand righted itself. There was nothing, unfortunately, that he could do for his wet hair. Or the lamp.

Tony folded his arms across his chest. "So, did I hear a gun?"

"No," Loki grumbled. "Her magick and mine met and it was more like fireworks. Jane called it a sparkler."

"Huh. Interesting. Why would your magick combine to make that?"

"I don't know," Loki said and ran a hand through his wet locks.

"That must annoy you."

Loki didn't answer.

"So, Lok – can I call you Lok?"

Loki sighed. "I'd prefer you didn't."

"Great. So, Lok. I think we should have a chat."

"About?" Loki snapped. Oh how he wished he could take Tony Stark down right where he stood. And he could, too. He was without his Avengers, without his iron suit. It would be so easy. But that would have to wait.

"What else? Jane."

"What do you want me to say that hasn't already been said to you by Thor and Jane herself?"

"Oh, I don't know. A guy like you with magick of his own. Kind of on the outs with the fam since, ya know, your attempt at taking over Earth. I mean, we all know that you've been… _babysat_ by Thor since. I'm sure it's kind of nice having the heat taken off you what with Janie sprouting powers—"

"She didn't sprout powers like a plant, Tony. She was gifted with them."

"Yeah, yeah, but the point is she must be the focus right now. Am I right?"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

"And you're the one that was chosen to train her."

"Yes," Loki hissed.

"So, I just want to know: what are your plans for Jane? I mean, are you planning on staying the course and training her the way you've been asked, or do you have something up your sleeve?"

Loki cocked his head to the side. "What makes you think I have something up my sleeve?"

Tony laughed humorlessly. "Call it intuition. A guess even. Or, just experience from dealing with your special brand of manipulations. What's your deal, Lok?"

"I don't have a _deal,_ Stark."

"You see, I want to believe you, but I just…don't. Just keep in mind that we whupped your ass before and we'll do it again if you do anything to harm her."

Loki said in all honesty (though this time it wasn't painful), "I have no plans whatsoever to harm Jane." _I just plan to use her._

xxxxxxxx

Jane had thought Erik would be thrilled with her decision to stay on Earth, but by the frown on his face she was getting the strong message he wasn't.

"On the one hand," he said, "I would be happy to have you here and you could train with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D."

Jane made a face. She still wasn't a huge fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sure, they had done some good and gave her back her equipment, but she was still wary of them.

"But on the other hand, I'm not sure how much help they would be able to give you and I fear you turning into some kind of lab rat for them to experiment on."

The excitement Jane had felt coming over to tell Erik she was going to stay left her. It rather felt as though he'd pulled the rug out from under her. "I don't think the Avengers would let that happen," she argued feebly. She sank into his lumpy couch feeling defeated.

"Jane, you're an Aesir now," Erik said as he stood across the room and rubbed his chin. He had started pacing while she'd told him what had happened on Asgard with Sif and Thor. Then when she'd told him she was going to stay here, with him and Darcy, he had stopped.

"Am I though? I mean…maybe Eir was wrong," Jane offered hopefully.

"I doubt that," Erik said.

She did, too, but she was willing to fight it if it meant she didn't have to be an Aesir. Maybe the Norns would just get sick of her belly aching about it and take back all her powers and immortality.

"I don't believe this!" she exclaimed in a burst of frustration. "You actually want me to go back there? They _hate_ me, Erik. When the only one I can trust is _Loki_ , you know there's a problem!"

Erik came over and sat down beside her. "Jane, Thor does not hate you. Nor does Frigga."

"I see you didn't mention the big cheese, the All Father of being a complete ass himself – Odin."

Erik glanced to the ceiling and he cleared his throat. "Perhaps you should be a bit more careful in how you speak about him."

"I don't care what he thinks," she said petulantly.

"I don't think it's safe for you here, Jane. Too many people will be after you. A mortal gifted with the powers of a Goddess? The press would have a field day."

"It's not like I'm going to tell them," she said. "They don't have to know."

"Jane, you're not naïve. You know as well as I do these things have a way of coming to light. My fear is what will happen if it does? There are always those just lying in wait for no other reason than they are angry at the world for how they believe they've been mistreated."

Jane wasn't sure if Erik realized he had just basically described Loki. Although, when it came to Odin and his spectacular parenting (cue sarcasm), she wondered if Loki wasn't somewhat blameless for his horrible decisions. They didn't have therapists on Asgard as they did on Earth, as far as Jane knew anyway. Who did Loki have to talk to about how his adoptive father was a jackass?

"You have more opportunities in Asgard to become the warrior and protectress the Norns wants you to be, that the Earth _needs_ you to be," Erik continued. "Listen, Jane, I don't understand what Thor's problem is. Sounds to me he's reverted back to that arrogant man he was when he first plummeted to Earth." He grinned. "Maybe you need to hit him with your car again."

Jane feigned a smile.

"Perhaps you could seek help from Frigga? You have mentioned more than once how much you like her. Perhaps she is the one that can help you. I don't trust Loki, you know that, _everyone_ knows that, and while I shudder to think of him training you I also wonder if there's a reason Frigga and Odin had for that?"

"He has magick. The only other one that does is Frigga."

"I want to say there is a method to her madness…"

"But you're not sure."

"She loves her son. I imagine she wants to believe he can be redeemed."

"So that's what I am now? His redemption?"

"You do have a repoire with him that no one else seems to have."

Jane blinked. "I do?" She thought of their very childish magick fight that morning. Maybe Erik wasn't completely off base…?

"Despite his disdain for all things human and 'Earthen', I do think that Loki has always respected you."

 _"_ _Jane, Thor does not deserve you."_

She remembered quite well the look on his face when he'd said that. It had shocked him as much as it had shocked her. Out of everyone in the palace that she would have thought to be the first to question her gift, she would have thought Loki would have been first in line. And yet he wasn't. That fact served to make her feel accepted (and how desperate for acceptance was she when it was Loki's approval she looked for?) and wary. Loki gave nothing without a price attached to it.

"I don't want you to think, however, that I want you to go," Erik said. "I worry about you on Asgard, especially in light of what Sif did. It concerns me that Thor didn't at least hear you out."

"I think he was willing to after he'd calmed down," Jane admitted. "But then I slapped him and shut that down."

"I see."

Jane sighed heavily. "So basically you're worried for me here and worried for me there, and there are positives and negatives to both places, not to mention dangers—"

"Yes."

"And so you're not going to tell me what you think I should do. You're going to make me make the decision."

Erik nodded. "Yes."

"Is it a decision I have to make right now?"

Erik smiled. "Of course not."

"Great. So, can you show me what you've been working on?"


	13. Chapter 13

**This was inspired by the new photos of Hiddles that surfaced this weekend, looking very dapper in a suit while filming...**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

When Jane returned to the hotel room later that evening, she was carrying a garment bag and hung it up in the bathroom before sitting on the bed with a sigh. She looked weary. There was also a light in her eyes that hadn't been there before, and Loki realized that he hadn't seen much of it since she'd lifted Thor's hammer. It troubled him that he knew the difference of a Jane with her fire snuffed out and a Jane with it lit. He thought back to the times he had seen that light since lifting Thor's hammer and he noted that it was every time she managed a magick trick, every time she looked upon She-Ra the way some women looked upon their children. Despite her protestations, despite her objections to wanting what was gifted to her, Jane found joy in her abilities. Perhaps that was what Loki needed to focus on when it came to convincing her to return home.

Home. That he should think of it as _her_ home as well now gave him pause. He shoved the thought away, preferring instead to focus on Jane in this moment. He decided instead to focus now on the weariness he saw in her too.

He hoped that Erik Selvig hadn't done anything to poison her against him since he already felt as though he was on an uphill battle with that already (any fault on his part in that he of course chose not to consider). His and Jane's relationship was complicated to say the least. He knew she didn't fully trust him, but she didn't fully mistrust him either. She walked the line, and sometimes he felt that line shifted depending on whom she'd just spoken to.

He walked a line with her as well. He didn't fully dislike Jane, though what his dislike of her boiled down to was her innate goodness. It was such a bother, that. Yet there were aspects of her that he rather liked. He liked that she argued with him. Even as a mortal with no powers to protect her, and knowing that he could smite her where she stood, she didn't back down from him. In his quest to want subjects, to crave for others to bow down to him, it was strange that her defiance should actually please him.

"Have you enjoyed your day?" he asked on a drawl.

"I did," she said simply, looking over at him on the couch. "Did you? What did you do? Did Tony give you a hard time?"

"I can handle Stark," Loki said with a wrinkle of his nose. "Have you given any thought to returning?"

"I have."

"And?"

"And…not yet."

"What exactly does that mean?" he asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

"It means that I know I have to return but I'm not ready to yet."

"How much longer do you need?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Just tonight."

That surprised him. "Oh?"

She nodded and then got up. "Darcy and I are going to go out tonight," she explained. "I just want to have some fun and feel normal for one night and then I'll go back with you tomorrow."

"Are you certain?"

"Not at all, but I know it's…perhaps the lesser of two evils I guess."

"Is it truly as bad as all that?"

She didn't answer. She got up and went to the bathroom instead and he heard the shower turn on seconds later. Loki frowned. While he was pleased that she had made the decision to return to Asgard, he had to admit that he didn't like that she was returning so…so defeated.

When she emerged nearly forty-five minutes later from the bathroom, Loki was brought back to the night before when her stomach had been bare and he was able to see the curve of her breasts. Now he could see her legs. Her long, long legs. Her dress was moss green and went quite well with her coloring. Her eyes were bright, her skin glowing. She looked the Goddess she was.

"And where is it you are going tonight exactly?" Loki asked. He told himself to look her in the face and not at the slit at the top of her dress that exposed just a hint of her cleavage. It was rather as though it was playing that child's game of peek-a-boo with him.

He rubbed his forehead. There had to be something in the air on Midgard that caused him to notice such things on Jane's person.

When she slipped on a pair of shoes that looked very much like she'd kill herself in them, not to mention made her legs appear even longer, Loki's mouth went dry. Once they were back on Asgard things would go back to normal, he thought. They would.

"Loki?"

"Hmmm?"

She turned, exposing her bare back to him. He stared. "Can you zip me?" she asked.

He continued to stare. Jane looked over her shoulder at him. "Loki? Zip me?"

Loki walked to her as though in a dream and placed one hand on her shoulder as he zipped her dress up. She smelled like lavender and oranges and when his knuckle brushed against her back, he noted the softness of her skin.

"All set," he said in a rumble and she turned to face him with a smile.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Beautiful," he said, the words coming unbidden from his mouth.

She smiled, but it was rather sad. "Liar. Good night, Loki. Try not to get into trouble."

Loki stood there, perplexed. She didn't believe him? He sighed. Why should she? He was a liar, just as she'd said. And her confidence had been shaken considerably thanks to Thor…

Thanks to Loki.

Again, there was that feeling of guilt…

All right, there was a problem then. How did he fix it? Her ability to focus on her magick and devote herself to her skills seemed rather dependent on how Jane felt about herself. Her energy was low, and not just because she'd had an eventful few days, but because she was hurting. Thor, from her perspective, had betrayed her when he'd believed Sif over her. In her hurt and to retaliate, Jane fled Asgard. She was returning home – yes, there it was again, him thinking of it as her home as well – but she was returning under some duress. She didn't want to go. It was just "the lesser of two evils".

Perhaps all Jane really needed was a pick-me-up. Something to bolster her confidence. For once, Loki was about to do something that was not solely about benefitting himself.

Even though it would in the long run, and really, wasn't that all that mattered.

So, for once then, he was about to do something that benefitted him _as well as_ someone else. And that was still a first.

xxxxxxxx

Jane twirled her wine glass by the stem and completely tuned Darcy out while she conversed with some random guy that had bought her a drink. Darcy was always getting hit on in bars. Jane, not so much. It was partly her fault because she never really went to bars, and the only reason she had gone tonight was so she could have a girl's night with Darcy before going back to Asgard.

She had to admit though, she wasn't really feeling it. Spiritual guru's liked to say one should live in the present, but it was hard to live in the present when she knew that tomorrow she'd be leaving her home and returning to a place she wasn't wanted.

She thought of Thor and how he hadn't been the one to come for her and she felt a fresh wave of pain all over again. There was such a gulf between them and just when she'd thought it was getting smaller, it had been blown to hell.

He'd almost used his _hammer_ on her. She just could not get past that fact.

"Perhaps I could get you a wine you would actually drink?" a deep, velvety voice said from next to her.

She looked over and swallowed hard. The man leaning against the bar next to her was tall, blond, blue-eyed, and smiling in a way that sent shivers down Jane's back. He was handsome. He looked a bit like Loki, too…but nicer. Much nicer. Loki always had a predatory gleam in his eye. This guy just looked so sweet and handsome and from the sound of it, he was British too. And he was wearing a light grey suit that hugged him in all the very right areas.

He held out one long, elegant looking hand. If hands being elegant were even a thing… "My name is Thomas. And you are?"

"Jane," she said. "Just plain Jane."

He smiled and it lit up the room. White, straight teeth. "I don't think you are plain at all, Jane."

She found herself smiling and feeling like a teenage girl. "Th—thank you." And now she was stammering like one.

"Would you like a drink? A red perhaps instead of a white?"

"Uh, sure."

He studied her closely. "Or perhaps the lady would like a turn about the dance floor?"

Jane bit her lip and glanced toward the dance floor. The music was soft and melodious and couples flowed together in a way Jane could never conceive of doing. She was not very graceful at all. "Oh, I don't know. I mean, you like your feet don't you? One dance with me and you'd probably end up limping tomorrow."

He grinned and it reminded her of Loki. He held out his hand. "Trust me."

Oh, what the hell. What did she have to lose? It was her last night on Earth for a while most likely, and she did come out to have a good time. It wasn't as if she had anyone in Asgard that would care anymore…

She slipped her hand in his. It was cool like Loki's, too.

And why the hell was she thinking about Loki right now?

"Okay," she said.

He smiled and led her onto the dance floor. Thomas certainly knew how to move. He didn't dance, he _glided_. And, thanks to him, so did she. He twirled her and dipped her, he made her laugh and feel as though she was dancing on a cloud.

When the song ended – and she swore she didn't even hear it start, that was how focused she was on Thomas – he led her back to the bar and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you, Jane, for the dance."

"No, no, thank _you_ ," she gushed.

"If I may be so bold…?"

She braced herself. This was New York. Who knew what could come out of his mouth next, and just when she'd thought this dashing gorgeous man was actually kind of normal…

"You are incredibly beautiful and actually quite graceful, contrary to what you think," he said. "Are you involved with someone…?"

She shook her head. "No, we – we just broke up. We don't seem to be…seeing eye-to-eye on a few things."

"Then he is a fool," Thomas said and Jane almost felt like maybe he meant it. He'd just met her and they'd shared just a dance, but it was nice to be complimented.

"Thank you," she whispered and leaned up to kiss his cheek. His hands settled on her waist and squeezed there. "Do you want to get that drink now?" she asked him when she'd stepped back.

He stared at her, looking almost perplexed. "I – I can't," he said.

She smiled to herself. Now he was stuttering.

"I have a previous engagement, but I – I am glad I stopped here, Jane. I'm glad to have met you."

She smiled. "Thank you, Thomas. It was nice to have met you as well."

"Perhaps I could call you…?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm…not really from around here. Well, I mean… let's just it's complicated."

"Then this is goodbye?"

She nodded. He dipped his head and kissed her softly. "Goodbye, Jane."

He walked off quickly, and Jane pressed her fingers to her mouth. Slowly, her mouth spread into a wide smile. Darcy came over, wide-eyed and excited. "Holy shit, Jane, that guy was off the hook hot!"

Jane nodded. "He certainly was."

"Where'd he go?"

"He had somewhere to be." She shrugged. "It's for the best. I have somewhere to be tomorrow."

But, she didn't care in that moment. Thanks to Thomas, she felt lighter. Happier. And ready to enjoy her night with Darcy.

xxxxxx

Loki walked back to the hotel, his Thomas façade fading with every step he took. He'd done what he'd set out to do, which was to give Jane some of her confidence back, but he could not for the life of him figure out what had made him kiss her like that.

He could still taste her on his lips. Could still feel her in his arms and in his hands…

Yes, it must be the Midgardian air. It was turning his brain to mush. There was no other explanation for it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

When Jane returned to the hotel room later that night there was a definite spring in her step that hadn't been there before. She didn't give any details and that was fine with Loki. He knew the details. In fact, he could still feel her lips against his. Probably best not to dwell on that or think about that, even if it he couldn't seem to dispel it from his mind.

The next morning Jane insisted on saying goodbye to her friends one last time – including "Uncle Tony" – before going back to Asgard. When it came time to leave, Jane wound her arms around Loki, She-Ra clutched tightly in her hand, and she made him promise to teach her how to go back properly next time.

Loki stared down at her as she spoke and remembered what it was like to dance with her. To kiss her.

Valhalla, he needed to stop this.

The instant they landed on Asgard, Heimdall informed Jane that the All-Father wished to speak with her immediately. Just like that, the light that Jane had carried with her was snuffed out. As they begin their way down the Rainbow Bridge to the palace, Loki found he can't stand to see her so downtrodden. The All-Father had that effect, Loki knew this all too well.

He stopped in the middle of the bridge and grabbed Jane's hand to stop her. She looked at him in question. "Do not let him make you cower, Jane," Loki advised her. "The All-Father likes to hear himself talk more than anything. He is known for his wisdom, but I find him to be lacking that virtue. What he wants more than anything is for everyone to follow his commands, no questions asked. Mother defends him, says there is a reason for everything he does. I've yet to find those reasons."

"So, what do I do? Just nod and agree and then do what I want?"

He smiled. "Yes."

The corners of her mouth twitched at the corners. "That's what you do, isn't it?"

His smile grew wider. "Yes."

Jane laughed then and some of the light returned in her. Loki walked her all way to where Odin waited on his throne to receive her. It didn't usually take much to anger Loki where Odin is concerned, but he was surprised that his anger this time was for Jane and not just the general annoyance he typically felt when Odin made a demand. Loki knew Odin didn't spend a lot of time on the throne. He was often too busy to actually sit there. The only time he did was when he wanted to intimidate someone. It's not lost on Loki that this is what Odin has planned for Jane now.

He was torn between wanting to tell her that he'd wait for her if she needed to talk after meeting with Odin and just leaving her be. Why did he care so much? Why was he angry for her? What did it matter to him whether Odin hollered at her for leaving Asgard in such haste and without a word to anyone? Why did it bother him to know that Jane would leave that meeting with the All-Father feeling small and insignificant?

Loki said nothing in the end. He left her there and forced himself to return to his chambers. He would not dwell on how Jane was faring with Odin. He would not think of her leaving feeling beaten down, small, and insignificant. He would _not._

xxxxxxxx

"Jane Foster," Odin said as Jane stood before him. She wished she could say she wasn't nervous about this meeting, but she was. It was intimidating looking up at the All-Father on his throne, and logically she knew that he meant it to be that way. Still, it affected her. Especially the look of disdain and disappointment she read on his face.

He had never liked her, Jane knew that. He'd had some respect for the fact that she'd managed to keep Frigga from being killed by the Dark Elves, but it was a grudging respect. He didn't want her here, he didn't want her to have powers, and he didn't think she was worthy of any of it.

In all that, they were in agreement. Not that it mattered. Not that it changed anything.

Jane thought of saying his name in the same way he'd said hers, but decided it was probably best not to antagonize him. She just wanted this over, and quickly.

"Did it escape your notice, Jane Foster, that you are an Aesir now?" Odin asked.

"No, but I—"

"I do not care to hear you speak. You speak far too much."

Jane pursed her lips together. Okay then.

"Despite how we all may wish it were not the case, you are one of us now. You have been Chosen to be gifted with powers and immortality. Do you know how many of your pathetic race would love to have such an honor bestowed up on them?"

"Now hold on just a—"

"I said be quiet," he snapped, stressing the 't'. If she were closer, Jane was sure she'd feel some spittle upon her skin from that.

"I do not care what you want, what you like, what you don't like – I do not care for any of it. I care that you do your duty. Do you know, Jane Foster, what your duty is?"

Everything in Jane wanted to snap at him. To be sarcastic and childish, to treat him as he was treating her. Instead she said curtly, "Yes."

"And what is it?"

She cleared her throat. "To serve Asgard. To protect it."

"And the Nine Realms."

"Yes."

He got up then and Jane knew he was going to come down to her, get in her face, and berate her up close. She held herself rigidly, reminding herself that if she didn't fight back, it would be all over soon.

"You acted in a way that I suspect most Midgardians do – childish, rash, and impulsive. You rather reminded me of Loki, which is perhaps why the two of you seem to get on so well. I would, however, advise you not to follow down his path of self-destruction, Jane Foster. It is not a happy one. Instead, I ask – nay, _demand,_ that you act in the way befitting a warrior of Asgard. You will treat me, my son, and Frigga with respect. As will you treat Lady Sif and the Warriors Three."

"But—"

"It can be arranged that I can make you mute if I must," he hissed. "The Norns may have deemed you fit to hold that sword and carry that power, but I do not deem you worthy. You cling to your mortal ways the way a child does to his mother's skirts."

He circled her still, but he was silent for a while and Jane just gripped She-Ra with all her might.

"You will apologize to the court for your actions," he said. "Specifically, you will apologize for your slander against Lady Sif and the violence you showed towards her."

Jane opened her mouth to rail against this but Odin had stopped before her and from the look on his face, he was challenging her to do just that. Being rendered mute was not worth giving him a piece of her mind. She clenched her jaw so tight she felt it would shatter.

"You will train every day. You will learn the ways of the court, and you will learn how to control your baser, Midgardian behaviors and learn to conduct yourself as befitting this court and all of Asgard. Do I make myself clear, Jane Foster?"

Jane nodded and tears stung her eyes. Not because she was sad. Because she was angry, so very angry, and wanted to retaliate against him.

And yet…

Part of her knew he was right. She had acted like a child, but under the circumstances, couldn't Odin be at least a little understanding? She supposed though, from his perspective, no. He had to put up with her being on Asgard and in his palace as it was. He was already at his limit, and he didn't care to know or understand hers.

She did think that having to apologize to Sif was complete and utter shit. Not after what that bitch had done to her. And now she was going to have to apologize to the court like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"Do you have anything to say, Jane Foster?" he asked.

"No," she said, hating that her voice shook.

"Remember that The Norns have looked down upon you, but I do not. I have no trouble meting out justice as I see fit."

Odin's definition of justice was questionable. No doubt it would never swing her in her favor, either. She thought how she'd like to prove to him what a good warrior she could be – even better than Sif. And that gave her pause. Is that how Loki felt when it came to proving himself to Odin against Thor? The damage it had done, the mind fuck that it was trying and trying and just knowing that Odin would always find some fault, always look the other way and favor another again and again.

"You will issue your apology tomorrow morning when I gather the court here. I suggest you make it good. You are now dismissed, Jane Foster. I do not wish to see you again for the rest of this day."

Jane walked away from Odin. Walked. Not ran. Not marched. Just walked. Stiffly, with her head held up. She kept her eyes trained on the door and did not waver.

In the hall, alone, her bottom lip trembled as she made her way to the only one she wanted to see in that moment.

When he answered his door his dark brows were knit together. He looked on guard, but Jane didn't care. This was Loki. He was always on guard. And really, she couldn't blame him. Not anymore.

Instead, she hugged him. He held himself stiffly in her arms, but Jane didn't care. He was unused to such things like hugs. His mother may give them but Jane imagined that Frigga was careful not to do it under the watchful gaze of Odin.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" Loki asked. His voice shook a little.

"I get it. Odin is such a…" She even feared saying it, feared him hearing her.

"I know," he whispered and finally he hugged her back. "Was it terrible?"

She nodded. "I have to issue an apology to the court tomorrow…to Sif specifically. He…can he make me mute? Cause he threatened me."

Loki squeezed her tighter, and Jane was comforted by the fact that perhaps he felt concerned for her. If that was the case, that was no small feat where Loki was concerned. "He can find a way," Loki told her softly.

Loki, for his part, was consumed with so many feelings that he was unaccustomed to. Guilt, concern, the desire to take care of someone that was not himself. Guilt was first and foremost though. How did she do it? How did she make him feel things that others had failed to make him feel?

He had wanted this. He'd wanted to drive that wedge between her and Thor, and make the gap even wider between her and Odin. Yet now he felt he'd done what he'd set out to do a little _too_ well. Before she was just a pawn in his little chess game. He moved her and the pieces about to where they needed to be so he could finally win the game (take the throne). Yet now he felt oddly… _protective_ of Jane.

They weren't so different. Not anymore. Him, abandoned by his father and plucked by Odin from Jotunheim, raised to believe he was the same as Thor but forever being on the outside, never measuring up. Jane, chosen by the Norns to become an Aesir, forced to give up her human life and serve in the court, to serve Asgard and the Nine Realms, knowing that she would never measure up. Knowing that in the eyes of the All-Father and most of the court she was the outsider. As he was. He hadn't asked to be taken from Jotunheim. She hadn't asked to be taken from Earth. This…feeling he had for Jane was not just because she'd shown him some kindnesses. It was because he saw himself in her, saw how beaten down he had gotten in seeing her beaten down in the same way.

He didn't like it. He thought he'd enjoy it, but he didn't. And he didn't like that he didn't like it. Jane was changing things. Changing things inside him he didn't understand. He was about to push her away, to gain some distance, to stop this onslaught of emotion when she whispered against his neck, "You are the only one I can talk to."

She sounded as surprised and as troubled by that as he was to hear it. He had the sense that he didn't want to fail her, but how could he not? Failing others was all he knew how to do after all.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Jane took dinner in her chambers that night, seeing as how Odin had made it very clear he didn't want to see her again. She didn't want to incite his wrath any further and so she stayed away, missing home, missing her old life, missing the way the things were.

There was a knock on her door after she knew dinner was over, and she ran to it, hoping it was Loki. How odd that she should crave his company, but seeing as he was the only one who felt as much of an outcast as she did, it made sense.

It wasn't Loki though. It was Thor.

Where before the sight of Thor softened her edges and her heart, now the sight of him hardened her.

"Can I come in?" he asked. He looked contrite, she'd give him that.

She stepped aside without a word. She didn't have a lot to say to him and yet at the same time all she wanted to do was scream at him. Was this, she wondered, how Loki felt on a day-to-day basis? Stifled because of Odin and the people of court who looked down on him, and yet wanting so much to find some way to let all the rage inside him out?

She didn't really have to think about that too much. Yes, he did feel that way.

"How are you?" Thor asked.

"How do you think I am?" she snapped.

"Father told me about his meeting with you," Thor said. "I told him he was wrong to threaten you."

"Isn't that what he does best?"

"He's not that bad, Jane."

"Get bent, Thor."

Thor sighed heavily, as though he was irritated with her. As though he was done with her. _Well, I already know he's done with me_ , she thought bitterly.

"I told him he was wrong because not only is it foolish to question the Norns, but because you are not a threat. What went wrong…that was my fault."

Jane folded her arms across her chest and looked at him. "Oh, this I do want to hear."

"While you should not have left Asgard as you did, I understand. I hurt you. You've had a lot to grapple with—"

"Finding out my boyfriend is really just a stuck up ass is a lot to deal with, I agree."

"Sif didn't attack you, Jane. I know her. She would not do that."

"Except that she did. I saw her—"

"You saw _hair_ that looked like Sif's. Plenty of people on Asgard have hair like hers."

"So if it's not hers then are you saying some assassin came in here to kill me?"

"We are looking into that."

"Oh, I'm sure," Jane snapped. "I'm sure my life is a high priority."

"It is. You are one of us now."

"No I'm fucking not, Thor!" Jane shouted.

"Whether you like it or not, whether you accept it or not, you are."

"Then someone should clue Odin in on that, because he would rather I wasn't either."

"My father…he is set in his ways—"

"I don't think the apple falls too far from that tree," Jane snapped. "There are Nine Realms, right? Why can't I go to another one, huh? Why do I have to stay here?"

"Because you are untrained. Your magick is not a stable thing; you do not know how to control it, and you do not know how to fight."

"So then let some other Realm train me. I could go to Earth and let the Avengers train me."

"No. Your magick is not something they can understand, not something they can work with to be able to effectively train you. Jane, it was my hammer you lifted. The Norns chose that moment, and that weapon for a reason. To show you that you belonged with _us_. You _saved_ my Mother. You helped save _me_. You belong to us."

"But you don't want me."

He shook his head, looking flustered. "It's not…you expect us to understand what it is you feel – how you don't want this, how you've been ripped away from all that you know and given this new life, but can you not understand how we feel? That it is an adjustment for us as well?"

"I thought as my boyfriend, former, I suppose now, you would have been happy. Happy that I got to fight beside you—"

"Why would I ever be happy that you got to fight, Jane? It's not fun. It's not glorious. People _die_."

Good point. There had been so much death, and evil never took a holiday. It just kept coming. She saw how it affected the Avengers, how hardened they were, how it took them all a while to come back from it.

Did she really want to jump into that fray? But then, how could she not? As a citizen of Earth and now one with powers, was it not her job to protect it? To jump right into the fight and defend her home? On the other hand, doing the right thing had gotten her into this mess to begin with…she could see why Loki didn't bother.

"It's not out of concern for me that you're not happy with this – that Odin is not happy with this. It's because you work beside humans, but you don't think they're good enough to be Aesir's. You don't think they should have the same powers as you."

"You're right," Thor said plainly. "I don't."

Well, there she had it. Her eyes narrowed. "And I have more than you."

Thor straightened, his mouth pursed into a straight line and his expression darkened considerably. "I would not go down that road if I were you, Jane," he said darkly, warningly.

She just stared at him, keeping herself from reaching out with her magick and doing something to him. That would be stupid. That would be really, really stupid.

After a moment of meeting her gaze straight on and showing her _I'm not afraid of you_ and _Don't even try it,_ he left.

Jane had no more tears left in her to shed. Besides, she wasn't sad. She was angry.

xxxxxxxxx

It was late when Jane heard a knock on her door. She hadn't been sleeping and she was certain that had less to do with her Aesir form than it had to do with the fact that she was dreading having to issue an apology to court, and specifically to Sif, in the morning.

Court was one thing, and bad enough (even if she got Odin's reasoning on that one), but it was having to apologize to Sif that really stuck in her craw. He was essentially making her admit to being a hysterical crazy person. It was making her apologize to the woman who had _attacked_ her. How was she going to be able to hold her head high after this?

When she opened the door, she was surprised to find a guard standing there. He pushed her back in the room and Jane felt panic begin to well up inside her. Oh God. Was she about to be assassinated?

But then his form changed in a flash of green and gold and there stood Loki. Relief had her throwing her arms around him. He caught her about the waist and laughed softly. He pushed her away gently and wagged a finger at her. "You and your hugs, Jane. Must you need so many?"

That kinda hurt, but there were only so many things she could react to in a day and she'd reached her limit.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

He grinned. "I've come to help you release some tension."

Her mind, conditioned as it was to think of that phrase in terms of sex, glanced towards the bed. Her active imagination couldn't help but conjure up an image of her and Loki in bed. Him behind her taking her doggy style—

What. The. _Fuck?_

She cleared her throat. "Uh, how—how do you plan on that?"

"Come with me," he said and started for the door.

She followed him, and once in the hall he snapped his fingers and changed them both into guards. "Why not just make us invisible?" she whispered.

"I like this better. Makes me feel like I'm getting away with more."

She laughed softly. Of course.

He led her out to the iron chamber and their illusion fell away. Jane looked at him with an arched brow. "So, you're going to make me practice?"

"Yes, I am, but in a very specific way," Loki said and a hologram of Odin appeared in the middle of the chamber. "You see the weapons on the walls? I've seen you move them – now I want you to move them into that target."

Jane couldn't help it; she laughed. It was so…so Loki to come up with something like that. "If anyone saw this they would think it treason," she warned him.

He shrugged. "No one will see us."

"You've taken care of that, haven't you?"

"Of course."

Of course indeed.

It was as though her magick had been waiting for this release, and she supposed it had. She spent an hour lifting weapons off the wall and directing them to the image of Odin. Sometimes she got him right in the center, sometimes not. When she didn't, Loki would give her some direction and she'd remember that this was also practice.

Finally, when she felt her energy begin to wane, she sat down on the ground and just looked up at Loki helplessly. "I'm so done right now."

He squatted down beside her. "Feel better?"

She nodded. "You don't like hugs, but you gave me this. Thank you."

He looked down and then stood. "Yes, well…"

She flicked some dirt with her finger. "Thor came to see me."

"I imagined that he would."

"It didn't go well."

"I didn't imagine that it would."

She sighed. "It's over, and I…I think I sort of threatened him."

Loki looked down at her with arched brow. "Oh?"

"I just told him I had more powers than him now."

"Jane, take it from me…its best not to get too cocky."

"I'm just angry, Loki."

"I know," he said quietly. "I know the feeling."

"I feel like no matter what I do or say, no matter the apology I have to issue in the morning, I will never measure up. I will never prove myself."

"Do not prove yourself to them. Prove yourself to those you wish to protect. Midgard. Prove yourself to them."

Jane knew she should do just that, but she wasn't there yet. She had too much whirling inside her to think clearly. It was always a problem of hers. In her work she became so invested she couldn't see anything else. In this, she was so consumed with how fucking unfair all of it was that this was all she could feel, all she could see.

All she wanted to do was hurt Thor. Anger him as he'd angered her. Hurt him as he'd hurt her. Her impulsiveness and recklessness had not yet left her it seemed, for Jane got to her feet, took Loki's face in her hands, and kissed him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Once Loki got past the shock that Jane was actually kissing him, he kissed her back. It felt as though the something that had been building inside him had finally broke. The dam had burst and Loki gave into the rush of the feeling of Jane's soft lips on his, of her arms twining around his neck and playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He growled into the kiss and pulled her closer wishing he could somehow pull her into himself and completely possess her.

Then the thoughts came…

 _What am I doing? Why am I kissing Jane? Why is she kissing me? What does she mean by this? Why am I allowing this to happen?_

He pushed her from him, and a bit forcefully, too. She stumbled, looking shocked. Shocked because of how hard he'd pushed her or because she too was now catching up to what they had been doing, Loki wasn't sure. He half hoped it was because of how he'd pushed her.

"What are you doing?" he hissed and wiped at his mouth. He didn't want her to linger there. He feared the taste of her would linger on his tongue the way she lingered in his thoughts.

"I was kissing you," she said flatly. "Surely you know what a kiss is."

"Yes, but _why_?" he demanded.

"Because why not? Because I'm hurt and I'm angry and I want…"

" _What_? What do you want?"

"To rattle them. To let them know they can't contain me the way they want to."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "And you thought to use me to that end?"

"No, I…yes, maybe a little…" She sighed. "I don't know. I just thought what would disturb Odin and Thor more than you and I?"

Loki stared at her. Was it possible that Jane Foster was more conniving than him? His plan all this time had been to drive a wedge between Thor and Jane, to further the divide between Odin and Jane, but he did not consider seduction as part of his plan.

It made sense. It would drive Thor round the bend and make Odin wary of what Jane and Loki together could conjure up as a team.

As lovers.

The unease it would cause Thor alone would be worth it. Despite the fact that Jane and Thor were apparently no longer together, Loki knew that Thor still loved Jane. It was just that his pride was too large and in the way, but when he finally got over himself he would want Jane back. And she would probably take him back.

But if Jane was otherwise occupied…if Loki could make her…

No.

He didn't want Jane to fall in love with him either for real or in jest. In fact, he found this whole thing distasteful, and not because he found Jane repulsive. No, quite the opposite actually.

It stung that it wasn't him that she wanted, but to just stick it to Odin and Thor. It stung because, well, he wanted _her_.

 _What is happening to me_? he thought miserably.

"You don't want me," he said matter-of-factly. He knew the answer to that, but apparently wished to torture himself more by hearing it from her anyway.

"No more than you want me," she replied.

If she only knew the way she tormented him. How she made him feel things. Notice things about her. Even how he'd been worried about her during her meeting with Odin…

"You've no idea who you're playing with, Jane Foster," he spat.

"I rather thought we could both play, Loki," she said. "Come on, think about it. What would drive them crazier than the two outcasts getting it on? It's not like we actually have to. Just make them think we are."

"Then why did you kiss me if what you're suggesting is that we merely pretend?"

She looked down, kicked at some dirt with her foot. "Because I feel close to you. I get it, why you hate Odin, why you despise Thor…you and I, we're not so different anymore."

He stalked over to her and gripped her by the arms. "And what if I wanted more, eh?" He walked her back to the wall behind her and pushed her against it, leaning into her so that she could feel the whole length of him against her. "What if I did want you?" He bent his head and dragged the tip of his nose against the length of her cheek. He heard her startled gasp and he grinned to himself before placing a kiss on the pulse point on her neck and then biting it. She shuddered and Loki thought – _Now what do you feel, Jane?_

"What if I didn't want to pretend?" he asked huskily. "What if I wanted to touch you…" he covered one breast with his hand and held back a groan. She fit into his palm so perfectly. "What if I wanted to slide my hard cock inside you and claim you?" he whispered and shoved his knee between her thighs. She moaned.

"Loki," she breathed and tugged on his hair, bringing his face down to hers. She kissed him hard and rubbed herself against his thigh, riding him, seeking friction. Loki found he was shaking with the desire to make all he'd said come true

So, he pushed away from her. She just gaped at him, eyes wide with surprise and need.

"If we were the same, you wouldn't suggest what you just did. You would understand how insulting your offer is," he told her. "You want to use me. All I had ever wanted was to be equal to Thor. To be as loved and as wanted as him. And I never have been. Now you have proven to be just like them by wanting to use me just to get back at Thor."

"Loki, no—"

"No? You did moan for me, Jane, but you also say you don't want me. Is it just the fact that you're hard up and you've been neglected a good bedding by Thor?"

She pursed her lips together and clenched her jaw.

"Playing the wanton whore and the schemer does not suit you, Jane," Loki said, a rebuke in his tone.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Loki didn't say a word. He didn't have to and he didn't want to – he wanted her to feel his disappointment in her. His disappointment that masked his hurt. It wasn't him she wanted, not truly, and that stung. It was just revenge.

It was a day Loki never thought would come: when revenge was, for once, not at the forefront of his mind.

"Come, let's return to the palace. You have an apology to issue in the morning," he said.

She followed him back to the castle, didn't even comment when he changed their visage to a guard again. Jane's head hung low and he knew she felt shame. Good. Let her feel it. Now she knew how he felt every day of his life being in this blasted Realm as Odin's adopted son and Thor's lesser brother.

xxxxxx

Jane felt awful. Worse than awful. She was the suckiest suck ever. Loki had been right. She had sought to use him. Use him to make her feel better and use him to get back at Thor and Odin. She spent the rest of the night going over what she would say to court in the morning, and then later what she would say to Loki.

It distracted her from thinking about how it had felt when Loki had pushed her against the wall and touched her. How it had felt when he bit and then sucked on her neck and how his words had taken root in her mind and she had seen them fucking in her mind. Her heart raced when she thought of it now.

She was just upset. Betrayed by Thor, _abandoned_ by Thor, and then thrust into this new life that she hadn't asked for and didn't want. She wanted to make a choice for herself and thought sticking it to Thor and Odin was a choice, and they couldn't really do much of anything about her and Loki hooking up. It wasn't as though that was treason. She liked the idea of them ruminating on it, and wondering what they were up to. She also liked the idea of Thor thinking about her with her legs around Loki's waist as he drove into her again and again with his long hard cock…

Oh, God. She was getting hot just thinking about it and that had to stop.

Morning came and with it, the jitters. She refused to let the people of court know though. She would hold her head high and retain some dignity even if she felt she'd been stripped of it – partly through her own actions and partly through Odin and Thor.

She choked down her breakfast at a quiet dinner table and tried in vain to catch Loki's attention. He was determined, it seemed, to ignore her though.

When the moment of truth came and it was time for Jane to apologize to the court, she placed She-Ra at her feet and held her hands demurely in front of her. "I wish to apologize to the court for my rash and impulsive behavior. It was irresponsible of me to not consider how my actions may have appeared to members of the Court. It is my duty and responsibility to act with honor. I did not do that, and I apologize. Specifically, I would like apologize to Lady Sif." _Gag me,_ Jane thought. She forced herself to look directly at the Warrior Goddess and to school her features into a mask of neutrality. "I was wrong to accuse you of attacking me. You are a Goddess with honor, and I know that you would never have done such a thing to me. Please forgive me, Lady Sif, for how I have wronged you."

Sif nodded. "You are forgiven, Lady Jane."

 _Fuck you_ , Jane thought. "I also wish to apologize to Loki."

You had to be deaf not to hear the whispers erupt after that statement. Jane pushed forward. "I have disrespected my teacher by my actions as well. Loki has been most kind and patient with me and I took advantage of his kindness by behaving as I did. I am very sorry, Loki."

All eyes went to Loki who looked rather stunned by her apology. Jane didn't doubt he wasn't often apologized to, and definitely not in front of everyone. His worth was never displayed to the court of Asgard. In doing this, Jane hoped to rectify that.

Having recovered from her apology, Loki nodded once and said, "Apology accepted, Lady Jane."

Jane hoped he meant that. "I promise to the court, here and now, to act the way an Aesir gifted with great power by the Norns should. I am not above you; I am one of you, and I hope to prove that from this moment on."

Frigga stepped forward, clapping. Odin didn't look particularly pleased by his wife's interference. Jane knew he would have been happy for her to continue on with profuse apologies. "Excellent, my dear," Frigga said and wrapped an arm about her waist. "We forgive you and we from now on support the gift that the Norns have given us as well. You, Jane Foster, are a gift to _us_. You are part of this court, and as such, part of us."

Jane could have kissed her. "Thank you, my Queen," Jane murmured to her.

Frigga smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sure we all have tasks we must see to, so why do we not do that?"

"Frigga?" Jane asked softly.

"Yes, my dear?"

"May I hug you?"

Frigga laughed and turned Jane in her arms so that she could. Tears fell from Jane's eyes. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you and Loki."

"Lady Jane."

Jane pulled away from Frigga and found Loki standing on the step below her with his hand out. He was smiling. "Are you ready for your lessons?" he asked.

Jane was overcome with the desire to kiss him. He had forgiven her! Or was this a ruse? One never knew with Loki, did one? She slipped her hand into his and he kissed her knuckles. "Don't forget your sword," he said.

Jane smiled, bent to pick up She-Ra, and allowed him to escort her away, no doubt saving her from having to speak to Odin again.

They both missed the surprised looks and speculative glances of those still in court as the pair left to tend to their training.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Loki led Jane to the iron chamber without a word the whole way. She was left to wonder if his show of escorting her from court was all show. In a sense his actions had probably caused a few tongues to wag just as she had wanted them to the night before.

Once they'd reached the iron chamber Jane couldn't take it anymore. "All right, Loki, did you really accept my apology?"

He turned and faced her, his expression unreadable. "All depends. Was it sincere?"

"Of course it was."

"So, it wasn't just a ruse to make them wonder?"

She looked at him pointedly. "You're the one with nefarious plots, Loki. Not me."

He laughed lowly. "Well, now, that's not true. Last night you had one all on your own."

"And I realized my error. Thanks, strangely enough, to you. My apology today was not just me actually apologizing to you, but also showing Odin that you matter."

Loki laughed sardonically. "It would take more than an apology in court for Odin to see that, Jane. I know I matter. Just not to him."

"Liar."

He looked sharply at her.

"All your actions have been a direct result of feeling you _don't_ matter. That because you're not Thor, because you're from Jotunheim and not Asgard, because you know that Odin would not let your have the throne even if something happened to Thor and he couldn't take it – that is what you have taken into yourself. You live and breathe that hurt and it has manifested into anger at not just Odin, but your entire existence and everyone in it."

"Enough, Jane, let's not spoil the morning by what you think you know of me. Beings like you – whether they are human or otherwise – seek to find a deeper reason for one's actions. You want to make me into something good because you are good. I hate to disappoint you, Jane, but I am not. Power is all I've ever wanted."

"Liar."

He flicked his hand up in her direction and a blast of his power shot out, hurtling toward her. Jane lifted She-Ra with the intent to deflect his attack. A force field of shimmering pink and white energy surrounded her and when Loki's magic hit it, a burst of azaleas erupted.

"I did it!" she exclaimed. "The protection shield is back!"

Loki frowned. "Do you know how you did it?"

"I had the intent to block your magick from harming me, and that happened." She pointed at the ground. "Azaleas again."

"I see that," Loki murmured.

"This has never happened with anyone else?" she asked him.

"You and my mother are the only other ones that have magick," he told her.

"I suppose you wouldn't know why the Norns gave me magick and not just, like, super powers like Thor?"

Loki had a theory, but he wasn't up to sharing. In fact, his theory rather disturbed him. His mother was the only one he got on well with. His mother was the only one he loved (though he knew she'd argue that he loved Thor as well, but was too stubborn to admit it). Now, there was Jane. Jane, whom he'd never truly had any problem with save for the fact that she was mortal and so… _good_. He actually rather liked her, though he would have never admit it in all seriousness to her (after she'd slapped him and he'd said he'd liked her before facing Malekith, he had actually meant it. Who else would do such a thing to _him_?)

He knew the Norns well enough to know that there was always a plan. A greater plan than anyone could ever think of in all the Nine Realms. It hadn't escaped his notice that the one being who had been gifted with magic was the only other one he could stand – depending on, of course, what she was doing or saying or making him think and feel.

Plus, their magick yielded results like bloody flowers when it came together. Or like little bursts of light as it had in the hotel during their magick fight.

The Norns were up to something and Loki wasn't sure he was going to like it. Namely because the part of him that did like it unsettled him greatly.

"So, what's on the agenda today, teach?" Jane asked with a grin.

It infuriated him how she could pull him back from his melancholy with her smile. He schooled his features into one of passivity. "You're an odd creature, Jane Foster."

"Takes one to know one I guess," she quipped.

His eyes narrowed. "Now we begin." And he started the session by charging at her.

xxxxxx

Loki held out his hand to Jane who had fallen on her back. "You cannot rely on your magick to protect you every time, Jane. This is why you must learn to fight. In the midst of battle you must keep your wits about you. You must stay present and be aware of the tools you have. Both with your magick and the ones in your hand. In your case, your sword."

"Come on, just say it."

He frowned. "Say what?"

"She-Ra. You said it once. Say it again." She smiled broadly. "You know you want to."

"I wish to do no such thing," he groused. "Will you take my hand or not?"

She took it and he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled into him a bit and he caught her about the waist to steady her. She smelled like flowers and though her body was soft, like a woman's often was, there was a strength in it too. He wondered if she'd always had that strength or if it was due to her new Aesir self. Loki had a feeling Jane Foster had always had it. He'd never met another with such an iron will.

He set her back and moved away from her as quickly.

"Come on, Loki, just say it once more. Please? Pretty please?"

He frowned over his shoulder at her. "No."

She rolled her eyes. "I know you. The more I ask, the more you'll refuse. You get off on being withholding."

He smirked. "Sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the getting of it."

Jane wondered if he had experience in that area. He'd wanted a throne and got it for a short time, but had that really sated him? Had the getting of it been as sweet as the wanting it? He claimed he'd only ever wanted to be Thor's equal after all.

He was just so perceptive about everyone else but himself.

"Am I interrupting?"

Loki and Jane looked over to the entrance to find Frigga standing there, smiling at them.

"We just finished," Loki said.

Frigga came over and kissed her son on the cheek. Though Loki bristled at that, Jane still saw the affection for Frigga in his eyes. He was such a big faker. How exhausting it had to be to be contrary just for the sake of it.

"Jane, I was hoping to discuss with you about a different kind of training," Frigga said and looked at Jane with a bit of a mischevious smile.

"Oh?" Jane asked.

"There are many things for you to learn as far as battle and honing your magick," Frigga said. "I've no doubt that Loki is a fine teacher when it comes to those things, but I would like to teach you something different. What I propose is teaching you the way of the court here on Asgard."

Loki's laugh was low. "You wish to teach Jane proper court etiquette? Good luck."

Jane shot him a look and he grinned at her. To Frigga, Jane said, "I would love that, Frigga."

"No, you won't," Loki drawled. "But I do believe it important. You must also learn about the other realms. I'll take that part."

Jane's head was spinning already.

"And dancing!" Frigga said excitedly.

Loki looked at her. "Dancing?"

"But of course! There are balls, celebrations, weddings – there are many reasons to learn how to dance properly. You shall teach her that, too. But I should like to be present for it. I will instruct, you will lead, and Jane will follow."

"Jane's not much of a follower, Mother," Loki said.

Jane smiled at him.

"For dancing she will be," Frigga said. "What do you say, Jane?"

Jane wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She did need to learn all this stuff, plus in this way she showed everyone that she had the backing of Frigga. "I'm in. When do we start?"


	18. Chapter 18

Learning things like what utensils to use and for what course wasn't so hard. In fact, it was a lot like Earth in that respect – start out and work your way in. Though Frigga did warn Jane that for revelries and celebratory feasts those sorts of things went out the window. Many of the warriors, like Volstagg for example, preferred to use their hands. Jane couldn't believe she had to ask if it was all right that she use utensils instead of her hands to eat. Frigga assured her it was fine, and in fact encouraged her to do so.

"What does Sif do?" Jane asked in what she hoped was nonchalance.

"Subtle, Jane," Loki said with a bit of a reprimand in his voice.

Jane ignored him. Frigga didn't answer her.

And so the week consisted of all sorts of courtly things – how to curtsy and who to curtsy to. How to address those in court – so many Lord and Ladies being bandied about. Loki taught her about the Realms and about those in importance there. Then he quizzed her. Because this was Loki and he was not only a task master but a sadist.

"Jane, you're not trying," Loki told her when he looked over her quiz answers.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You just taught me all that junk an hour ago!"

"I would not call learning about dignitaries in other Realms 'junk'. You'll find yourself in a—"

"Realm of trouble?"

He looked at her witheringly, but Jane couldn't help but laugh at her joke.

Then he said her name in that strained I-can't-believe-I-have-to-put-up-with-your-nonsense tone and Jane knew she was going to pay for that later when they sparred.

Sparring was the one thing she was getting better at. Not perfect, but better. It just seemed as things often went, she'd traded one trouble for another and this time it was learning all this stuff about the Realms. All the history that were to her merely myths once upon a time, and myths she had never been all that familiar to her to begin with. That's what she got for burying her nose in all those science books…

Science. Astro physics. Things that made _sense_ to her. She missed it.

One evening, Jane made her way to the library and planned to spend some time studying when she saw Sif coming down the hall from the other end. Oh joy.

Jane forced herself to smile. It wasn't a real smile, but the kind one wore when the wanted the other person to know just how fake it was. She was fully prepared to just keep walking on by to the library, but then Sif had to go and stop her.

"Lady Sif," Jane remembered to say correctly. "How may I help you?"

"I wanted you to know that I am personally looking for whomever attacked you."

Jane just stared at her. "What?"

"I'm looking for who—"

"But…" _But why since it was you?_ she thought. "Why?"

"Because I know you don't actually believe it wasn't me and I wish to clear my name."

"Why do you care? No one believes me anyway."

"I have honor, Lady Jane. My honor dictates that I find out who sought to smear me and bring them to justice. There are perhaps those that do believe you, but there are probably some that do. In either case, a seed of doubt in the minds of those you fight with is never a good thing. Take Loki for example. He's done so many things against Asgard, his brother, his father – he's done more harm than good and _no one_ trusts him now. He is considered a threat. Granted, he actually did the things he's accused of, but even if proved himself for the next hundred years as being trustworthy, he still dishonored Asgard and his family. I cannot have my fellow warriors thinking I may be dishonorable or a traitor. It simply cannot be borne. So, I will find your attacker and clear my name."

So, all right, Sif's reasoning was entirely self-serving…and perhaps a ruse to hide that she herself did it? How better to make herself look innocent than to "search" for the one that harmed Jane?

Whatever. Jane was so over all of it at this point. Well, okay, not really, but she wanted to be. She was doing better, she thought, by all this learning and training she was doing. She was proving herself, too.

"Thank you," Jane said, though she wasn't sure she meant it.

Sif nodded and departed and Jane rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're not the best of friends, but at least that was amicable."

Jane sighed and didn't attempt to hide it. She turned and found Thor coming her way. _I really picked a bad time to head to the library,_ she thought. _This is like on Earth when I would go five miles out of my way to avoid running into people I knew at the grocery store._ _Do I need to plan alternate routes to the library just to avoid running into Thor and Sif?_

When Jane didn't say anything to Thor's comment about her and Sif – and really what could she say? Certainly not what she was thinking which was: Fuck you, you giant meathead, I don't give a great flying fuck about being friends with Sif. And also, fuck off.

Thor spoke again. "Are you well, Jane? I haven't seen much of you. I hear you've been quite busy though with my mother and brother."

"I am well, thanks," she said. "Listen, I'd love to chat and catch up, but I'm on my way to the library. I have some studying to do. Loki hinted strongly about another quiz tomorrow."

Thor arched a brow. "A quiz?"

"Yeah, a quiz. He's a bit Sheldon Cooper in his approach to teaching, but I am learning a lot so—"

"Sheldon Cooper?"

"Forget it. Good night, Thor."

She turned to walk away when Thor grabbed her arm. She looked over her shoulder at him in question and he actually looked…sad. He let go of her arm. "I'm sorry, Jane, for how things have turned out."

"Are you? Because our break-up? The end of us…it's all you."

He didn't look like he knew what to say to that. He even looked surprised though Jane couldn't fathom why. But, before he could say anything more, she left him standing there and continued on her way.

xxxxxxxxx

Jane had been in the library for about an hour, her mind now wandering after reading about Alfheim. It sounded like a perfectly lovely place to visit and she wanted to go there. Maybe –

"Ah, there you are."

Jane turned her head from where she was curled up on a loveseat and found Loki striding towards her. "Were you looking for me?" she asked.

He didn't answer her though. Instead he handed her some papers.

Jane groaned as she took the proffered papers. "What are these now?"

"Now, now, Jane. I thought you liked learning. You have how many Masters Degrees and Doctorates on Earth?"

"That's beside the point. You give me a quiz almost as soon as you hand me something. Give me some time, Loki. Rome wasn't built in a day."

He considered this. "Perhaps the Romans were lazy."

"Or, perhaps, you're unrealistic in your expectations."

He grinned. "I just happen to think a brilliant mind such as yours can handle it."

"Are you attempting to compliment me as a way to get me to study?"

"I am."

"Hmm. That might work. Keep going."

He laughed then and Jane didn't call attention to it. It felt like a victory when she could make him laugh. He had even been smiling more as of late.

"So, Loki…"

"Yes?" he asked and arched a brow down at her.

"Is Alfheim very…pretty?"

He nodded. "It is."

"And welcoming?"

"Depends on who you are, but yes."

"I'll take that to mean you're not very welcome there?"

"I'm not welcome anywhere," he said with a shrug.

"Do you think that…I…would…be?"

Loki frowned. "You wish to visit? Jane, I do plan to take you to the other Realms – well, some of them anyway, but it cannot happen until you are presented to Asgard. And that cannot happen until Odin considers you trained enough."

"So then never?"

"It will happen, Jane."

"Well, here's the thing. Asgard kind of inherited me by default. I was with Thor and it was Thor's hammer that I lifted ergo I end up on Asgard and I'm trained on Asgard and I'm expected to serve Asgard, but what if I…wanted to move? And I'm not talking I find a little bungalow by the beach, but what if I moved to Alfheim? Could I do that? Would I be welcome there?"

Loki stared down at her. "You…wish to leave?"

She sighed and closed the book she'd been reading and turned in the sofa so that her feet were on the floor. "It's not that I wish to leave so much as I…wish to leave. I mean, let's face it. I am never going to win any points with Odin. He hates me. I am…" She looked around, feeling as though there were ears everywhere even in here. "…not so fond of him so…wouldn't it make more sense that I leave and go somewhere where I might be welcome? If a battle broke or something you could fire up the bat signal or—"

"Stop talking about such nonsense, Jane Foster. You belong here with us, and with us you shall remain. We do not always get what we want on your planet or on mine, and leaving because you and Odin do not get along is perhaps not the best way to handle it. You are a warrior. Warriors do not scurry off with their tails between their legs to other Realms. You'll stay here and I'll here no more of it."

Jane was stunned by his reaction and the anger in his tone. Had her suggestion been that insulting? Ridiculous? She certainly hadn't thought it – dare she think it – out of the _realm_ of possibilities considering she wasn't very welcome here.

"I expect you to do well on the quiz tomorrow. Plus, don't forget that dance lessons begin tomorrow. I expect that might even help you with sparring. Good night, Jane." And then he left, boots clicking hard on the floor. He slammed the door shut, causing Jane to start.

She made a face at the closed door. What the hell had crawled up his uptight ass and died? What did it matter to him if she…

Oh.

No.

But…

Possibly…?

Did Loki not _want_ her to go?


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Loki was in a sour mood and it was all Jane's fault. She'd done something that no other, save his mother and sometimes Thor had been able to do – she actually made him examine his _feelings_. He wanted to punish her for that, and he would find a way to do so, too.

She wanted to leave Asgard? She wanted to leave… _him_?

That her desire to leave Asgard should upset him so much angered Loki. What was she doing to him? Why did he care? He didn't need anyone, certainly not Jane Foster.

But the thought of her leaving Asgard filled him with this aching sense of loss…

No. Jane stayed put. She stayed on Asgard with him.

Unless he left with her…?

Oh, Valhalla, what was he thinking? What reason would we have to leave Asgard with Jane? Sure it meant leaving Odin's imperial rule, but Loki…well, he was ashamed to admit that he didn't know what life would be like without Odin to hate. Being free of Odin and Thor meant living a life he just wasn't sure about. Whom would he have to compete with if not Thor? With whom would he do everything he could to undermine?

Damn Jane Foster to Hel for making him think about these things. For making him consider his actions and the reasons for those actions.

He arrived for dance lessons a bit late and found Frigga showing Jane some of the basics. He stopped when he saw Jane. This morning she wore green and gold.

His colors.

His mouth might have gone dry at how beautiful she looked in his colors – they made everything about her glow. Her hair, her eyes, her skin – she was a vision.

Had she worn his colors on purpose? Was this her olive branch? What was she _doing_ to him?

When she saw him she smiled as though she hadn't hurt his feelings the night before with her suggestion of leaving, with her _wanting_ to leave. Logically, he knew that she wasn't thinking in terms of leaving him, but it had felt that way.

He was so accustomed to being abandoned.

 _Haven't you done your level best to push others away, too?_

Why did his conscience sound like Jane? Not to mention a little hoarse, as though it wasn't used all that often…?

"Loki, come, I was just showing Jane the basics. She would benefit from a partner now I think," Frigga said.

Loki came over and though Jane was still smiling at him, he did not smile back. He knew that wouldn't deter Jane much and he actually looked forward to how she would attempt to badger him out of his sour mood.

The second Loki took Jane in his arms and they began to move, he knew that this was a mistake. In his mind he saw them together, dancing at some kind of feast. Jane wore white with a green band around her waist, green flowers in her hair, and a thick gold necklace around her neck. And he was smiling at her, beaming really. He felt his vision self's joy. Felt the happiness suffused through him and felt it being projected back to him from Jane.

He searched for the magick this vision was attached to and as soon as he began to search, it dissipated and became out of reach. He shot a look at his mother and in doing so, stumbled a bit.

"Now, see, I thought I would be the one with two left feet," Jane teased.

"Loki? You all right, son?" Frigga asked.

Loki clenched his jaw. "Just fine, Mother."

"Wonderful. Shall we begin again?"

She was the picture of innocence. She didn't even look as though she suspected he was on to her…the magick must have been woven into the dress, that was all Loki could think.

For the next two hours, Frigga proved a task master when it came to teaching Jane how to dance (now he knew where he got it from). While Loki didn't have the vision again, the one he did have was still embedded in his mind. Every time he took Jane in his arms he could almost feel that joy as if it had been real. As if it was his. Had he ever had such joy? Such _pure_ joy? No. He was angry to realize that he wanted it.

When they were done, Jane sank into a nearby chair and kicked off her shoes. "So, Aesir's are not immune to sore feet from dancing?" she asked him.

"You are just unaccustomed to it," he said. "If you'd like, I could take you to a hot spring where you could soak your feet?"

Jane smiled broadly and stood. "I love that idea."

Loki transported them and for that Jane was thankful. That meant no walking on her poor feet. She took in the area around them; they were nestled in some kind of wooded glen. There were tall, robust trees all around them along with thick green plants and flowers sprinkled about. To her right, in the rich soil, was a pool of sparkling water that had steam coming off the top of it. "Beautiful," she breathed. "How did I not know this place existed?"

Loki didn't answer her. Jane lifted the hem of her dress to her knees and sat down at the edge of the pool and then stuck her feet right in the water. The minute the hot water hit them, she moaned. "Oh my God…"

Still, Loki didn't move from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "What are you doing? Come join me."

"I shouldn't—" He broke off when she leaned practically all the way on her side and tugged on the hem of his tunic. "Please?" she asked and batted her long lashes up at him.

She was an impossible creature. He grumbled as he sat down on a nearby rock and took off his boots and rolled up the hem of his pants up to his knees. He came over and sat down beside her and put his feet in thinking a. that did feel rather nice and b. he gave into Jane too much.

They sat together in silence for a while, Loki thinking about how he should get up. How he should make _her_ get up and spar with him right there. But then she put her head on his shoulder and sighed his name. He froze.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

She lifted her head and Loki almost reached out to push it back down on his shoulder. He forced himself to stay still. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, watching him. Then her hand was on the side of his face and turning his head to face her.

"I won't go, Loki," she murmured. "I won't leave you."

Something inside Loki cracked and split open. He let out a sound somewhere between a cry and a moan and pressed his lips to Jane's. It took her a second to respond, but then she tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him down closer to her.

Loki needed her closer, so he pulled her onto his lap and his cock hardened under her bum. He wound his arms around her and kissed her hungrily. She broke the kiss with a gasp and he chased her lips, needing more.

"Loki," she breathed. "Look."

Loki's eyes popped open and then widened at what he saw. Their magick…it had combined. Swirls of pink and green surrounded them like a force field. There were sparks that crackled softly about them. Jane reached out to touch the energy around them and Loki stayed her hand. He was afraid to dissipate the magick that surrounded them. What did this mean? What was happening? This wasn't like before when their magick would crash into each other and create sparks or Azaleas, this was a co-mingling…

"Loki, I can feel your magick," she whispered.

He looked down at her. "You can?"

She nodded as she stared at the force field. "Yes. Just a little bit of it…it's strong…it's different. I'm sorry, I'm not good with words like you…but I can _feel_ it."

He could feel hers, too. But then he always could. Their magick together soothed him. It felt…right. "Can you feel how yours and mine feel together?" he asked her softly.

She frowned. "Not really. Should I?"

"You're still getting used to it," he told her. "In time, you will."

"What does it feel like?" she asked.

He smiled. "As beautiful as it looks."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him. He took his time with her this time, learning the taste of her, how she felt wrapped around him as she was. He, for once, felt no rush. He wondered if it was their magick or her. He supposed it was both for the magick was hers.

"I want you to know that this is not because I want to make tongues wag," she muttered against his lips.

He laughed. "I should think not considering there is no one around for miles."

She pulled back slightly and Loki fought the urge to push her back into him. He was glad he didn't though when she framed his face in her hands and smiled as she looked him over. "Beautiful Loki. Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

"You don't have to say such things," he rasped.

"I know that. I said it because I wanted to. And because I don't know that anyone has ever told you that before."

"My Aesir form is fine enough," he said. "It is not my true form though. That is…that is not so nice."

"Would you show me?"

"Perhaps another time," Loki murmured and kissed her again.

When they parted, Jane rest her head upon his shoulder again and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. Loki shut his eyes and for once just allowed himself to feel…it terrified him, but with the soothing magick that surrounded them he couldn't find himself to care…much.

"Jane," he began after a while, and looked at her. "Where did you get that dress?"

"Your mom," she said. "Do you like it?"

"You wear my colors. Did you realize that?"

She smiled lazily. "I did. I figured she wanted us to be all matchy matchy while we danced."

"Hmmm," he hummed. Frigga had more than matching colors on her mind. Loki began to wonder just how much Frigga knew about what the Norns wanted now that Jane had powers, now their magic could co-mingle…he wondered what it would do in this state.

The sound of laughter interrupted their interlude and Jane lifted her head to look over his shoulder. "There's a couple coming this way."

As if the force field around them knew the moment was lost, it dissipated.

Loki lifted Jane and placed her beside him on the ground. She pulled her feet from the water and got to her feet. Loki got up as well and transported them back to the palace. They arrived in the ballroom again, their feet clean, and their clothes righted.

"Do you want to spar now?" she asked him.

Loki shook his head. "Not today, Jane. Let's have a rest, yes?"

"I suppose I should study then," she said. "See you at dinner?"

"Of course."

She smiled and started for the door, but then spun around, ran back to him, and kissed him soundly. Then she was off again, her laughter trailing behind her and piercing him right in his heart.

 _Oh, bother_ , he thought and placed a hand over his chest. He was in trouble.


	20. Chapter 20

**One Month Later**

There was a change in the palace. Thor felt it. His warriors felt it. Something had changed. Shifted. And it stemmed from Loki and Jane. He had always known that his brother held a strange power over the court with his mercurial moods and schemes – everyone was on edge with Loki around as if awaiting what chaos he would bring upon them again.

With Jane, it had been the outrage that a Midgardian had been gifted with powers. She wasn't one of them and that was felt strongly. She was brash, unconcerned with her behavior, and she had brought dishonor to Lady Sif first, and then to the court when she'd up and left so abruptly to visit Earth.

Everyone had seemed to hold a collective breath – what would happen now? Things felt uncertain. If a Midgardian was found worthy – worthy enough to hold his hammer, even! – then what else was coming? Jane becoming an Aesir brought on the feeling of unrest, as if anything could happen now. His warriors were on guard, Heimdal was checked with daily and nightly on how the realms were faring – was there unrest? Was something amiss?

That Lady Jane Foster should have such power and connect so greatly with Loki gave everyone a cause for concern. Would Jane prove to be as untrustworthy as Loki now?

Yet now…now there was a lightness in the air.

Thor had seen his brother _smile_. Granted, he had seen his brother smile before, but this smile was not coupled with a well-placed barb. He smiled without artifice. He smiled with pure joy. His green eyes had been alight with… _with adoration_.

The fact that he had been looking upon Jane at the time of this smile had shocked Thor. And then he saw Jane smiling back at Loki with the same sort of look on her face and Thor felt, well, he felt jealous. It had stung sharply, like the nick of a blade on his skin.

Once Jane had looked at him that way.

He had no one to blame but himself though. He had tossed what they had away with both hands because of his prejudice and inability to accept that Jane had powers.

 _Powers greater than his own._

He fought beside mortals with their own power that made them something quite other than mere mortal, but Midgardian they were still. He'd also fought beside his warriors, even his brother who had magick Thor did not possess just like their mother, but Jane had _more._

He thought perhaps she had even more than Loki. However, Jane Foster was still alive so maybe not.

Now, Thor stood high above the gardens of the palace in a turret and watched Jane and Loki sit together on a stone bench. Jane had a book in her lap and Loki was speaking at great length about something. Jane listened, enraptured. Even from this distance Thor could see the tender looks the two shared with one another.

Among Jane's powers was her ability to soften Loki. Not even Thor had been able to manage that much and once upon a time he had imagined himself up to the task of at least _trying_. He had thought he and his brother had once been close. Then Loki had shown just how _not close_ they'd really been. But Thor had hoped…wished… _prayed_ that he could still be the one to reach his brother.

Now it appeared that task had been taken over by Jane.

It was an odd sort of thing to be jealous of Loki and the smiles she bestowed upon him, and yet jealous of Jane and the smiles Loki bestowed upon _her_.

"How do you fare, my son?"

Thor looked over at his mother as she came to stand beside him. He sighed. "I fare well, Mother."

She arched a brow. "Do you?"

He gestured down to Loki and Jane. "Have you noticed? There has been a change in Loki."

"Yes, I have. How do you feel about it?"

Thor sighed. "I am…unsettled."

"Jane was not meant for you, Thor," Frigga said softly. "She was meant to come into our lives, to enter into this realm, but she was not meant to be yours."

Thor clenched his jaw. "You know this for certain?"

"Yes. You are meant for someone else."

"Who?" He was angry now. His mother had known all this time about what was coming?

"You'll see soon enough."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked harshly. "Do you wish to hurt me by telling me that Jane was never meant for me? That she was meant for Loki?"

"No, I wish to prepare you. It may sting now, but it's only superficial. It hurts your ego, but not your heart. Not as you might think it does. Once you realize who you're truly mean to be with, you'll no longer feel the sting of it. Your heart will open and you will understand that there was a plan in place the whole time."

"Again, why are you telling me this? Is Loki aware that Jane is meant for him?"

"He's still learning. He is much more resistant to these things than you. Jane is slowly mending him, but I do not foresee their road will be easy. You have always been stronger when it comes to matters of the heart than Loki. I am telling you this because a future king needs to be prepared. They need to see not only what is right in front of them, but what is all around them."

"I told father I didn't want the throne."

"That does not mean that one day it shall go to you."

Thor knew that. He just didn't want to think about it.

"Your Father…he sometimes sees what he wants. You are not like that. You are not as hardened as him. You have heart."

"I thought a king had to be hardened so as to do what is right for the realm no matter how difficult?"

"There must always be a balance, Thor."

He knew that, too.

The sound of Loki's laughter wafted up to them and Thor found himself actually smiling. Who was he to deny his brother happiness? It was all he'd ever wanted for Loki.

Frigga patted his hand. "You'll be just fine, my son," she said and walked away.

xxxxxxxxx

"Loki?"

"Yes, Jane?"

"When will I be able to spar with the other warriors?"

Loki looked over at Jane from beside her on the bench in the gardens where they were taking their lessons that day. "You wish to spar with the others?"

"I wish to know how I've progressed by sparring with the others."

Loki waved his hand and before them appeared Sif, Volstagg, Hodun, and Fandral. They all had weapons in their hands. "You may fight them if you wish."

Jane gave him a side-eyed look. "That's not exactly what I had in mind." She waved her hand and pink ball of light tumbled them over as if they were bowling pins. They dissipated like mist.

"Jane, I really do wish you would not deconstruct my magick like that," Loki said with a sigh.

"I'm beginning to think you don't want me to spar with them," she said. She poked him in the arm. "Do you wish to keep me all to yourself, Loki?"

He waved his hand again and Jane could see the outline of this particular enchantment like a bubble around them. Loki was hiding them from view. He put his hand on the side of her face and drew her face to his. He kissed her slowly, stoking the fire within her until she was clinging to him, her hands fisted in his tunic. When he ended the kiss he answered her. "Yes."

"You can't keep me all to yourself forever," she told him.

"You are mine, Jane Foster," he told her. "And you shall remain—"

"Loki," she sighed.

The possessive bit was new. They had gone from kissing on occasion to kissing every time they were together. He kissed her hello; he kissed her goodbye. Sometimes, in the midst of sparring he would drop his weapon and kiss her so hard her lips went numb. Sparring apparently turned Loki on. She should have known.

They hadn't defined their relationship, which was fine with Jane. In a lot of ways she was still healing from her break-up with Thor. It hurt less now, but there were some days it still felt new when she and Thor were forced to interact. He'd smile or look at her in a certain way and she would feel the pang in her chest of a lost love – a changed love. Thor wasn't the man/God she'd thought him to be and the disillusionment coming off still smarted.

As if Loki sensed this – and maybe he did – he had taken to being possessive of her. He had told her that she was his and while at times it sent a thrill through her, other times she felt more like a coveted pet.

She was trying to be patient and understanding. Loki was unused to feeling things for others, namely in a romantic sense, and he obviously felt something for her. She knew he did. The way he kissed her and held her in his arms…not even Loki The Big Faker could fake that. So, in Loki fashion he didn't do things in half-measures. He liked and wanted her so in Loki's twisted mind that meant she was _his._ She wondered if in this way he could detach from his feelings for her. Just how deep did those feelings run then? she wondered.

And he thought _her_ an odd creature. Jane found herself trying to recall all the lessons in that one psychology class she took freshman year in college to understand him better. He didn't make anything very easy. But then, Jane always did like a challenge.

What exactly did it mean to be Loki's anyway? Currently it meant he didn't want her to spar with the others. But why?

"You can't keep me to yourself forever," she repeated. "You are preparing me for a reason."

"And you believe that reason is to spar with the others?"

"Would it not be best to learn the…the flavor of how the others fight?"

"Fine. You may spar with Hodun or Volstagg."

Ah, okay. Fandral was a consummate flirt, Thor was her ex, Sif was the one she'd expressed jealousy over Thor with – Volstagg or Hodun were neutral.

"You do realize that Thor and I are done. Finished. Kaput. Right?" she asked gently.

"I see the way he looks at you still," Loki muttered. "And I see how you look at him."

"I don't—"

"There is longing in your gaze. And yet it is me you cling to when we kiss. It is I who makes you moan in my arms."

Jane took his face in her hands and made him look at her. "I am still healing from my break-up with Thor. We had a past. We loved each other once and yes, some part of me will probably always care about him, but I do not want him back, Loki."

His gaze dropped. "Does that mean that you…want me?"

"You're so smart, you haven't figured that out yet? You think I go around kissing just anyone?"

He frowned. "Well, there was that time you did desire to make Thor jealous and make the others wonder—"

"Am I to never live that down?" she asked with a roll of her eyes. "I made a mistake and I realized it quickly enough. I'm sorry for it. I wish I'd never said it. I know how you cling to these things."

His expression darkened and he pulled back. "Jane—"

"Will you deny it?" she demanded.

"You try my patience greatly," he groused.

"And you try mine. I cling to you and I moan in your arms because it is you I want." She put her hand on his face, turned it toward her and kissed him. "There is a song on Earth, it's called 'It's in His Kiss'. In the song they talk about how if you want to know how one feels about you, it's in his kiss. It's there in my kiss, Loki. What you sense there is the truth." She pressed her forehead to his. "Do you not feel it?"

Now it was him that moaned when he kissed her. He pulled her onto his lap and trailed kisses down to her neck. He nipped her there and she shivered in his arms while twining her fingers in his thick hair.

He lifted his head and looked at her, his gaze heated. "You are still mine, Jane Foster."

She sighed. Well, she did tell him once that Rome wasn't built in a day.


	21. Chapter 21

Jane and Loki had been summoned to meet with Thor, Odin, and Frigga. Immediately she thought they were in trouble. For what, she didn't know. Kissing a whole lot? Thus far they'd been pretty careful about anyone seeing them, but it wasn't as though they were taking great pains to hide either.

"My guess is they are ready to present you to all of Asgard," Loki told her during their sparring session that afternoon. He swung his sword.

She blocked his swing with She-Ra. "That's not scary in the least."

"Don't be afraid," Loki said and raised his sword. "You've done your lessons well. You know what to do." He brought his sword down.

Jane raised She-Ra and blocked his strike. She knocked it to the side. "Did you just compliment me on a job well done? You, who almost failed me because I put a 'u' instead of an 'o' in someone's name?"

"You left the 'o' out of the ruler of Vanaheim's name." He jabbed. She blocked it. "They frown upon those things."

"It's not like I'll have occasion to spell his name out for him," she muttered and raised She-Ra to his neck.

Loki grinned. "He is actually a she."

Jane pulled She-Ra to her side. "I give up."

He grinned and wrapped an arm about her waist. He yanked her to him and kissed her. "I'm teasing."

"So, it's a man?"

"Yes, Njord of Vanaheim is a man."

"You kind of suck, you know that?"

He smiled. "So you are fond of telling me."

"I'm nervous," she said softly and rested her head on his chest.

"Because of Odin?"

She nodded. "If it was just your mother and Thor it wouldn't be so bad, but your father…"

"I understand, but I believe this meeting will be painless."

"Thank _God_."

"Just don't make any mistakes when you are presented to all of Asgard."

"Aaannnnd you're back to sucking."

xxxxxxxxx

"Jane, Loki," Frigga greeted them with a warm smile. Jane smiled back at the Goddess and bowed to her.

"Hello, Mother," Loki said smoothly.

It was the only warm smile they received. Thor looked grim and Odin looked…well, like Odin. He didn't have much in the way of facial expressions unless he was displeased. He didn't look displeased, Jane thought. He looked rather…resigned.

Sitting at a round table in the meeting room, Jane likened it to the Knights of the Round Table. She kept that tidbit to herself though. She wasn't going to speak at all unless she had to. Odin seemed to prefer it that way.

Loki pulled a chair out for her and she smiled at him as she sat down. He sat down beside her and, thoughtful man, he positioned himself so he was a buffer between her and Odin. Odin of course sat at the head of the table with Frigga beside him. Thor sat across from Loki and Jane.

Jane placed She-Ra beside her on the floor and sat back in the chair, keeping her posture straight. She placed her hands demurely in her lap and resisted the urge to fidget. Loki leaned toward her, his arm resting on the armrest of her chair. Thor's gaze flickered to the gesture and then looked away, jaw tightening.

"It is time to present you to all of Asgard, Jane Foster," Odin said. Jane nodded. It was just as Loki had thought. "We will also be inviting the rulers of Alfheim and Vanaheim."

"Jane can spell Njord's name well," Loki said.

Jane just shook her head and tried not to smile or laugh. Everyone else just looked at him. Loki grinned because…Loki.

Odin looked over at Frigga then and the Goddess nodded. She leaned forward slightly towards Jane and Loki. Loki stiffened slightly and he sat up even straighter causing Jane to do the same. Something was up.

"Jane, though you have been gifted with great power from the Norns, you were first human," Frigga said. "To some on Asgard and to others in the Realms, that will be a problem."

 _No kidding, really?_ Jane thought and darted a glance at Thor who shifted in his seat and looked down. Odin just continued to stare at her, his expression blank.

"Though we have accepted you," Frigga said to which Jane fought back a snort, "This may cause… _unrest_ in the other Realms."

Jane wasn't sure what the big deal was, but in a way she got it. If they were anything like Thor and Odin she would immediately be unworthy of such a gift based on her heritage. God forbid a mortal – a human from Earth – be worthy of anything.

Now Frigga looked at Loki. "Son, you have been on the path to redemption since you helped your brother with the Dark Elves."

Loki nodded, but he looked wary.

Frigga opened her mouth to speak once more, but was cut off by Odin. "In order to establish your position as no longer an enemy and threat to me and Asgard," he said to Loki and then looked to Jane, "as well as to establish you as part of Asgard and of this court, you and Loki will be wed."

Jane blinked. "What?"

Thor pounded his fist on the table and then got up and stormed out of the room, his cape streaming behind him in his rush.

"Well, I must say this is unexpected," Loki said. He looked at Frigga. "I should have known, Mother, with your attempts to play matchmaker."

Jane looked at Loki. "What?"

"Is there nothing else you can say, Jane Foster besides ' _what_ '?" Odin snapped.

Jane clamped her mouth shut. She was reeling. She and Loki were to be married? Had she heard that right?

"Jane," Frigga said gently. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm…stunned," Jane replied. "I'm not sure what to think. Is this – I mean, is this really necessary?"

Loki looked at her sharply. Jane sometimes didn't understand him. He hadn't sound exactly thrilled with the idea of having to marry her, but apparently he didn't like the idea of _her_ not wanting to marry _him_. No, actually, now that she thought about it, that was Loki all over. She knew he probably took her hesitation as a personal affront against him, which it was not. Yesterday she received powers that were clearly not accepted and today she was going to marry Loki?

"This alliance, fully supported by myself and Odin, will unite the court and show Asgard and the Realms that we are a united front. It will show that we back you and Loki," Frigga told her. "Yes. It is necessary."

 _This is how monarchies work_ , she thought. _Monarchies of old, but still._ Arguing was futile. She would just be shut down by Odin and infuriate the All-Father even more than he already was with her. Is this what life was going to be like now? An edict was passed down and she had no choice but to accept it? And why the hell did Thor get to charge out of the meeting and he didn't get stopped or reprimanded for it?

Oh, right. He was the favorite. Jane fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"When you are presented at court, Jane," Frigga continued, "Your engagement will be announced."

"You are dismissed," Odin said.

Jane had never wanted to hit someone as much as she wanted to hit Odin. So that was it then. No questions could be asked. No concerns could be raised. It didn't seem fair that she had been given all this power and yet could do nothing. She was, essentially, powerless in the face of Asgardian politics. In the face of _Odin._

Loki was the first to get up and when he did he looked down at Jane expectantly. He wasn't happy. She knew that set of his jaw and those cold eyes. He was pissed. Whether or not it was at her was unclear. She got up, grabbed She-Ra, and took his hand when he offered it.

He practically dragged her from the room and when they were outside and the door was shut behind them he looked at her and said briskly, "I'll come to you later." And then he strode away from her and Jane, who felt defeated and beaten down yet again, said nothing to stop him.

xxxxxxxx

Loki stood out in the highest tower overlooking Asgard. His hands were curled into fists. He wanted to scream until he was hoarse. Leave it to Odin to declare he and Jane be wed. He understood the political maneuvering, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

It wasn't that he was opposed to wedding Jane. He was opposed to marriage in general, but it was the way in which they were asked. No, not asked. _Told_. Loki didn't like the lack of power he now had. Didn't like that he had to jump through hoops to please the All-Father who was not _even_ his father. That his mother stood beside him (and he ignored the fact that Frigga was not really his mother either), infuriated him even more.

It was the lack of choice.

He cared for Jane. More than he wanted to admit. And should the day come that he felt induced to marry her he wanted to be able to make the choice, not be forced into it. It was bad enough that all his plans had gone to hell because of her…

Sometimes he wanted to snap her neck for making him feel things he didn't want to feel. Those moments were usually during those time he had her in his arms. She fit so perfectly there…

Damn it all to Hel.

"I thought I might find you here."

Loki sighed and dug his fingers into the cement railing. "Mother, I am not in the mood."

"No, I don't suppose you are," Frigga said behind him.

"Was this your decision? Or his?"

"You and Jane are well-suited—"

"So yours."

She came to stand beside him and placed her hand over his. "You care for Jane, do you not?"

He sighed. "I do. But it's the lack of choice—"

"I know, son, I know. But in this way your position as the Prince will be secure. This will benefit both of you. No longer will you be seen as a traitor to the throne."

Loki shook his head. "Mother, not even this will cement that. And pairing me with Jane whom everyone is already wary of…"

"Trust me."

Loki sighed again and looked at her. "She does not wish to marry me."

Frigga smiled. "There is time enough before Jane is presented at court and your engagement is announced. Perhaps you may use that time to romance your lady? You may think you've hidden from everyone how you two share kisses and carry on together, but you haven't hidden it from me."

Loki smirked. "Does anything ever really get by you? I daresay you see more than _he_ does."

Frigga sighed. "It's true that your father—"

" _Not_ my father."

"—sees what he wants to at time. It's my job to pick up on what he does not." She patted his hand. "I will leave you alone to think."

She left and Loki stared out onto Asgard and thought about how his life was again going to be changed.


	22. Chapter 22

Loki sent for Jane by having one of the guards come to collect her. Jane wondered what he was all about, and when she realized that he meant for her to meet him at the top most part of the castle, she cursed him under her breath.

However, with all the exercise she had been getting lately, plus the fact that she now had superpowers, the climb wasn't so bad. Still though, were elevators beyond these people?

When she finally reached the top, the glittering stars above them looked so close – close enough to touch – that Jane actually reached her hand up as though she could do just that.

"They are closer up here are they not?"

Jane dropped her hand and looked at Loki who walked towards her with his hands demurely behind his back. He was dressed plainly, in black pants and a greet tunic and she was unused to seeing him look so…normal. Also, he looked a little nervous. She smiled at him a bit shyly. "Hi, Loki."

"Hello, Jane."

"How is it that I've never been up here?" she wondered aloud.

"You've been busy."

A flickering of light caught her eye behind him and she gaped at the candlelit dinner set for two. She looked at Loki in surprise. "For us?"

He frowned. "Oh, I could see how you got that idea. I'm sorry, Jane. This is terribly awkward. I meant this for Thor and I. Once in a while we like a romantic dinner for two."

Jane just looked at him witheringly and he erupted into laughter that came from deep in his belly. It wasn't often that Loki laughed like that and it felt like a victory when Jane was able to make him do it. She smiled at him and he held out a hand to her. "My Lady Jane, would you be so kind as to accompany me for a dinner for two under the stars?"

She smiled and slipped her hand in his. "Of course."

She allowed him to lead her to the dinner table where he pulled her seat out for her and gestured for her to sit. She did and smiled up at him. Her eyes were drawn once again to the stars. "They appear so close…"

"Ah, well, that is partly due to magic. A manipulation on my part of some space and time – all very advanced and no, I cannot teach you. Most of it is illusion anyway."

She looked at him. "Why did you do that?"

"Why, for you, Jane. I know how much you miss those stars of yours."

She smiled and nodded. "I do."

"Once all this stuff and nonsense of all courtly things are put to rest and we are settled in as husband and wife, I will take you to them. I will take you all over – wherever you wish to go."

Jane looked down at her hands in her lap. "So it's happening then? We are getting married."

"Yes," he said softly. "I know it's not ideal, how it all came to pass, but Jane I…I think we will get on well enough. Don't you?"

Jane studied him thoughtfully. Saying he thought they'd get on well enough hadn't been what he was going to say. There had been something else there he'd almost said. No doubt it had to do with an emotion and Loki didn't do well with those.

"You hadn't seemed happy about it this morning," Jane said. "What changed?"

"You're mine, Jane. This just makes it official."

Jane heaved a sigh. "Not that again."

"I will honor you and protect you, Jane. Together I know we'll be a force."

"A force of what?"

"Against Odin. You and I, we'll forge our own path."

Her brows furrowed. "How do you mean?"

"We're not like the others, Jane. I'm a Jotunar, you're from Midgard. We're not like them and we never will be."

"I'm not sure about that. They take Odin's order quite well just as we are now."

"But together we will be strong. A united front."

Jane frowned. "I really hope you're not talking about overthrowing the throne or anything of that nature, Loki. I might dislike Odin, but I am not up for any kind of war being waged. You've been down that path before as it is and look how far it got you."

"I'm not talking about that, Jane," he said irritably. "I'm talking about you and me perhaps being able to effect a little change."

"Right now I just want to get through my presentation to the other Realms and our, uh, union."

His eyes narrowed. "You do not wish to wed me."

"I don't like being ordered to do something. I don't like marrying for political reasons. There's a reason those practices came to an end – not that they still don't occur on Earth, they do. Some cultures still practice it, but where I'm from we don't believe in it. On Midgard people can date and fall in love with a few people before settling down. It takes time to find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. People date, fall in love, they live together, they see if they are compatible, if it can work… we're not even in love, Loki."

He stared at her, his expression blank. That was never a good sign.

He tossed down his napkin on the table and sat back. "I brought you here so that we might have a nice evening, so that it could be a prelude of things to come for us. You're ruining it all by your talk of not wanting to marry me, Jane, and I don't appreciate it."

"You didn't want to marry me just a few hours ago either, Loki! Now you're talking about us changing things and being a 'force' and given your track record forgive me if I'm a little wary. Plus, you tell me things like I'm yours, there's no feeling there, just that I'm your possession." She threw down her napkin now and got up. "I'm not a possession, Loki. And I'm not going to be an instrument for whatever it is you're thinking of doing. The only way our marriage will work is if you get it out of your head that you'll be able to control me."

Now he stood. "I rather don't think I could accomplish that feat. You are a most contrary, thick-headed, stubborn creature—"

"So are you!"

"You claim to be so intelligent and yet you deliberately misread what I tell you—"

"What are you even trying to tell me?" she demanded.

"I care for you!" he burst out. "You're mine because I care what happens to you!"

"Then why can't you just say that!"

"I just did, you stubborn chit!"

"Don't call me a shit!"

Loki stared at her and then he threw his head back and laughed. Jane looked at him as though he was mad. Then, she too started to laugh.

"If this is what our marriage is to be like, Jane, I do not think we will ever be bored. That much is for certain. I do not allow just anyone to speak to me this way," Loki said as he came over to her and drew her into his arms. "Jane, for all that I am a silver tongue, there are some words that escape me."

"Loki, I know that sometimes it's what you don't say that says everything, but sometimes a person – especially the one about to become your wife – needs the words." She reached up and took his face in her hands. "You are safe with me. I won't make fun of you if you tell me you care for me. I won't laugh at you if you show your vulnerable side, and I know it's there, Loki. It's not a weakness as you think. It's a strength and I would guard it and protect it – protect _you_."

He looked down at her in awe and that vulnerability passed over his features. Jane saw a little boy in him in that moment. A little boy that wanted and needed love. Perhaps she saw that baby instead – the one that had been left out on that rock and knew that it had been abandoned and had cried and cried for someone to feed him and take care of him. Just the thought of it brought tears to Jane's eyes.

For all that Loki was a grown man, a _God_ , emotionally he was young and had never healed. A psychologist or some New Age practitioner would say his inner child needed healing. That had never made much sense to Jane until Loki.

She kissed him then, not with passion, but infused with sweetness. Then she looked to the table and laughed softly. "We didn't even eat anything."

Loki cleared his throat. "I suppose we should remedy that then," he said.

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, we should. You did go to such trouble to prepare this evening for me after all. I would hate for it to go to waste."

He kissed her then, crushing his lips to her in what felt like desperation. Need. With that kiss, Loki had told just told Jane how much it meant to him that she should appreciate his efforts, and that even though they'd argued he still cared. Her words had not fallen on deaf ears. How long that would last though, remained to be seen. This was Loki after all.

xxxxxxx

Thor, a few stories below Jane and Loki stood brooding as he stared out on Asgard. When he'd arrived to dinner and discovered from his mother that Jane and Loki were taking dinner alone together, he'd been furious.

 _Jealous_.

His mother had found him some time after the meeting that morning.

"I had thought you'd made your peace with this," Frigga had said. "I warned you."

"I had no idea when we spoke about Jane and Loki last that you meant for them to _marry_ , Mother."

"Despite how this has come about, surely you knew there was the possibility their relationship would blossom to this."

"This isn't a blossoming," he had told her. "This is an order."

"Is that what troubles you?"

No. What troubled him is that he hadn't enough time to get used to the idea of Loki and Jane. And, in some part of his mind, he'd thought it wouldn't last. That Loki would do something to muck it up because this was _Loki_. Nothing said his mother had to be right about _everything_.

Thor was angry with himself. This was his fault. He'd done this. He'd pushed Jane away because of his snobbery and jealousy and now he'd lost her and it was his own doing.

"Thor."

Thor looked over his shoulder and forced himself to smile at Sif. "Hello, Lady Sif. How are you this night?"

"A bit unsettled."

"Oh? You've heard the news of Loki and Jane then?"

Sif frowned. "Yes, and while that is…odd, there is something I've discovered from town."

Thor arched a brow. "Oh?"

"A man with the gift of magic. Not as potent as Loki and Frigga's, but it was enough to put force him into seclusion."

Thor frowned. "Who forced him into seclusion?"

"Some say it was Loki. Some say he didn't want anyone to know – although they did anyway – and forced himself into hiding. Although, they say he is a bit mad so that might have been it."

"I see. And what is it you want with this man?"

"It's rumored he is a seer of sorts. They say he can see one's past. I was hoping to visit him and see if perhaps he could see who attacked Jane. It can't hurt right?"

Thor nodded, liking this idea very much. Not only would it ease the tension between Sif and Jane if the perpetrator was found, but whoever did attack Jane _had_ to be found and besides, if Jane knew that Thor had gone out of his way to find them…well, it might find him back in her good graces.

"I will accompany you, Lady Sif," Thor said. "When do we begin?"

"First, we have to find what cave he's dwelling in…"

 _Of course,_ Thor thought. _Why should anything be easy?_


	23. Chapter 23

**For Ravenlaughter**

 **Chapter Twenty-three**

Jane was tired. So very tired. Not to mention stressed. For the past week she had been fitted for more dresses than she thought a person should own. One dress in particular had caused her throat to close up.

Her wedding dress.

It wasn't that it wasn't beautiful, it was – they all were – but being fitted for her wedding dress made the whole thing so very final. This was happening. She was going to marry Loki. Loki. The same God who a few weeks ago she'd wanted to toss out of her and Thor's apartment in New York.

Christ. How things had changed so drastically. And so quickly. When she actually stopped to think about it all, she felt a tad overwhelmed. Especially now with getting ready for her presentation at court, to be presented to Alfheim and Vanaheim, to announce her engagement to Loki. Her head spun just thinking about it all.

So, it was no big surprise that once she found one small break in her schedule she snuck into the library, found a large comfy chair that gave her the feeling of being swallowed in it, and promptly fell asleep.

"Jane…Jane…"

Jane's eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily when she saw Loki kneeling at her feet. She thought of saying something sarcastic regarding Loki on his knees before her, but then thought better of it. For as much as she could tease him, she wasn't quite there yet in being able to make those kinds of comments. Or rather, _he_ wasn't quite there yet in being able to accept them. They had some time though; he'd get there.

"You've disappeared on everyone," he said gently.

"I needed a break," she murmured and reached for him.

He met her halfway, taking her in his arms as she cuddled into him. She rubbed her cheek against his and hummed contentedly. "You smell good," she muttered.

"Do I?" he asked with a soft chuckle.

"Yes. You always do."

"Be careful, Jane. You'll turn my head."

She smiled and lifted her head. She looked at him, still sleepy, and kissed him.

Loki kissed her sweetly, then passionately. He held her face in his hands. "I told Mother I would come and find you."

She furrowed her brow. "Did I create a rumpus?"

"Of sorts."

"Oh no," she groaned. "Odin."

"Do not concern yourself with him. Your disappearance was not that dire. Mother figured you'd escaped because you needed a break. You sent the dressmakers in a tizzy, but she knew what you were about."

Jane smiled lazily. "Have I mentioned how much I adore your mother?"

Loki smiled. "She adores you as well."

"Can I just stay here a while longer?" Jane asked with a pout.

Loki pushed her back into the chair and she looked up at him in question. His eyes glittered and he wore that smirk she had come to know as his mischievous smirk. He leaned over her, bracing himself on the arms of the chair and kissed her deeply. "Perhaps I could do something to help you relax," he murmured.

His voice was like velvet and Jane shivered with anticipation. Her pulse quickened. "What do you mean?" she whispered. So far, they hadn't done anything but kiss. His hand had found its way to her breasts a few times but that had been the extent of it. It wasn't exactly what she would have expected from Loki. Not a God like him who oozed sex.

He smiled with dark promise and knelt before her again. Jane's breathing quickened when he began to push her skirts up. She watched him intently and he smiled at her.

"Spread your legs for me, love," he murmured.

She did so, happily. Eagerly.

He ran his hands up her bare legs and Jane shivered. He was getting close…closer…

And then he moved his hands back down her legs. She tried not to show her disappointment. Especially when he massaged her calves. Then her thighs. Oh, God. It felt good, but she wanted him so badly in that place that was currently throbbing with need…

He knew exactly what he was doing to her, too.

"Please," she moaned. "Loki, please…"

His eyes darkened with intent. "Did you want something, my Jane?"

"You know what I want."

"Tell me."

"I want your mouth on me, Loki," she said breathlessly and sat up. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Please…"

"Lay back, my love," he said.

Jane's breath hitched. _My love_. That was new. She liked it.

He kissed his way along her inner thigh and the closer he got to her pussy, the less Jane felt she could breathe. When he finally put his mouth over her, her hips jerked and she buried her hands in his thick hair. She gasped and then as his tongue rolled over her bundle of nerves, she let out a whimper.

He pushed her legs back further, spreading her farther, allowing him to get closer, deeper. Oh, God, she was going to die. She was going to perish right there. His hands lifted her bottom, bringing her closer still to his seeking mouth, his fucking silver tongue…

Jane came with a cry and Loki didn't stop. He was feasting on her as though she was his favorite meal. "Loki, Loki, Loki…" She came again with a shudder and tugged on his hair lightly.

He gave her one last swipe of her tongue and then rose and kneeled on the chair between her legs. He grinned down at her and she grabbed him by his tunic and drew her down to him. She kissed him fervently.

"I take it my lady liked that?" he asked teasingly.

"Loved. Your lady loved it," she whispered. Her hand drifted to the front of his trousers. He was hard.

He hissed and gripped her wrist. "No, Jane."

"Why?" she asked, and was embarrassed by how needy she sounded, not to mention petulant.

"Because this was about you."

And people said Loki was selfish to the core. Her lips parted as she looked up at him in surprise. He smiled almost shyly and kissed her forehead. "I hope that's relieved some tension so that my future wife may finish her fittings for the day?"

"Will I see my future husband later?"

"Just try to get me to stay away," he murmured and kissed her one last time before leaving her a puddle on the chair.

xxxxxx

Later, as Jane changed from her latest fitting she heard a knock on her door. She smiled and finished dressing hastily, and then ran to the door. She so hoped it was Loki.

Her smile fell when she saw who it was.

Thor.

She rallied quickly enough and forced a smile to her face. He'd seen it though, the displeasure on her face. He arched a brow and smirked knowingly. "Hello, Jane," he said.

"Hello, Thor."

He gestured to her. "May I have a word?"

"Just one?"

He chuckled. "Several."

She hesitated. "Loki…I'm not sure how kindly he'd take to you being in my private chambers."

"Already a dutiful wife I see."

Jane shot him a look. She didn't like his tone, nor did she like the implication he was making with his words _and_ his tone.

"If by dutiful you mean I am conscious of the fact that Loki is my fiancé and having you in my chambers alone, being that you are my ex, would make Loki uncomfortable, then yes. I am being dutiful."

"Uncomfortable? Do you know Loki at all, Jane?"

"What do you want, Thor?" she asked pointedly. He for sure wasn't coming in now. Nor was she going _out_ to see him.

"I wanted to see how you were doing regarding the engagement. Seems you're taking it all in stride."

Jane folded her arms across her chest. "I didn't like it at first, but as you know I often don't like being told what to do."

"You don't think being married to Loki that might be something you'll need to get used to?"

Jane's eyes narrowed. "No, actually, I don't. Loki is bossy, yes, but he knows he can't pull that crap with me. Tell me, how used to being bossed around are you being Odin's son? Oh, wait, I'm sorry, that's right. The rules don't really apply to you all that much do they?"

"Indeed," Loki said as he came up behind Thor and slapped him on the back. "Hello, Brother." His light tone belied the irritation Jane saw swirling in his eyes.

The brothers faced one another and Jane tensed. Neither looked pleased. Jane stepped out of the bedroom in between them, her magick flaring up at the danger she perceived.

"Have I interrupted something?" Loki asked as he placed his hands on Jane's shoulders. They felt heavy. Possessive.

"I was merely seeing how Jane was faring with her engagement," Thor said. His stance was alert, and his tone was casual.

"She fares well," Jane piped up. "Is that all you wanted?"

"I also wanted to let you know that Sif and I are searching together for the one who attacked you. We may have a lead," Thor said.

Loki's hands tightened on her shoulders. Odd, that…Then he dropped his hands from her. "A lead, eh? And where did you find this 'lead'? Roundabout near Sif's chambers…? Perhaps where the Warriors Three have their daily meetings?"

Thor's eyes narrowed. "As long as you've known Sif and you think she did it, too?"

"I believe Jane when she tells me something."

Thor's jaw clenched. As did his fist. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then he looked down at Jane and said, "I see you're doing well, Jane. Good night." With that he strode off, fists clenched at his sides.

Jane whirled around to face Loki and found him looking just as angry as Thor had looked. "Loki—"

"I came to bid you good night," he said and took her hands in his.

She furrowed her brow. "So, we're not spending any time together this evening?"

"I'm afraid not, Jane. It turns out I have some things to take care of. I apologize." He kissed her forehead. "Good night, darling."

He stalked off and pathetically, Jane called out to his retreating form. "What do you have to take care of? Anything I can help with?"

He didn't answer her. With a sigh, Jane went back inside her chamber. Well, it wasn't as if she couldn't use a good night's rest.

xxxxxxxxx

As much as Loki liked to think he was stupid, Thor was not. Loki had taught him much since his first betrayal. Such as, for instance, how to read his brother. He'd seen the almost imperceptible look of fear flash across Loki's face when Thor had mentioned having a lead on who had attacked Jane.

He'd also seen Loki's hands tighten on Jane's shoulders.

Loki was behind the attack on Jane, Thor was certain of it. Now he just had to prove it. However, now he had to do that without Loki finding out a thing.

And, somehow, before the wedding.


	24. Chapter 24

Because Thor had been duped by Loki so often in the past that he had learned, somewhat, how his brother worked. If Loki was in fact responsible for Jane's attack, then it stood to reason that Loki would now find a way to thwart him and Sif from discovering the truth.

Thor couldn't let that happen. That meant hunting for the recluse that could possibly give them the answers they sought would have to happen another time. Thor had no doubt that Loki was following him now. He could very nearly _feel_ him.

He charged into the room where Sif was waiting for him and when she opened her mouth to speak, Thor cut her off. "Do you ever feel, Sif, that the palace has eyes and ears everywhere?" he asked. He hoped Sif caught on to what he was saying.

Sif's eyes went wide and then her expression cleared and she nodded. "I do, indeed."

"I shall see you for practice tomorrow then?"

Sif nodded. "Of course."

Thor swore he saw a shaft of green light out of the corner of his eye as he and Sif departed their meeting room…

Was it possible his brother was getting a bit sloppy in his schemes? Thor wondered if it was lack of practice at them, or something else…like Jane.

xxxxxxx

Jane sat down on her bed and frowned thoughtfully as she stared at the floor. "Okay, Jane," she told herself, "you're a scientist. Scientists do not discount ideas out of hand just because they feel a particular way about them. They seek to find out more information. To either prove or disprove a hypothesis."

So, what did she know as fact?

Fact: she didn't like Sif.

Fact: Sif didn't like her.

The night she'd been attacked, she'd seen Sif's hair.

Jane sighed. All right, when she looked at the stone cold facts without emotion attached to it she could see where she might have let her feelings about Sif get the best of her. Those three elements combined were strong enough to come up with the _hypothesis_ that Sif could have been behind it, but really, more than one person in the palace had long dark hair.

It could have even been Loki.

She snorted. If Loki wanted to attack her, he would have and without hiding it. In fact, he had a few times during one of their magickal sparring sessions. . .

She got up from the bed and started to pace, tapping her chin as she thought aloud. "If Sif was guilty and wanted to throw me off she would of course say she was looking for the culprit. But for Thor to? That can't just be him protecting her. If she in fact did do it, what in Thor's personality and actions would lead me to the conclusion that he would cover that up? Would he, in fact, go that far to protect Sif?"

Granted, Thor's actions as of late had been questionable. His whole denial of her as being gifted the Norns could be pointed to as evidence that Thor had not been acting very…Thor-like.

What _was_ Thor-like then?

Egotistical. (And that would top her list considering current events…)

But also, surprisingly, fair. Though he may be cossetted by Odin (and, yes, Frigga), Thor always had the good of Asgard in mind. He always tried to do the right thing. He had even gone against his father's wishes to save her from the Ether…

(Would he do that now considering he thought her unworthy?)

Thor wouldn't go to such lengths to protect Sif. If Sif was in the wrong he would call her out on it. She had seen first-hand how Thor had so wanted to trust Loki and found it difficult to do so. And, again, he had gone against Odin to fight The Dark Elves and rid her of the Ether.

Fact: she'd been jealous when Thor had rushed to Sif's defense.

Fact: she'd been jealous of Sif and Thor before the attack.

Okay, so, yes, her scientific mind had fled. But could anyone really blame her? One day she was normal, living her normal life. And then she takes Loki's dare and bam – she's got all these powers, she's whisked off to Asgard, she's thrust into this world that for all intents and purposes is quite alien to her, and her boyfriend whom she thought loved and adored turned on her and then there was Odin to deal with…

It was just a _lot_.

All right, so hypothetically speaking Sif was not her attacker and that meant the attacker was still at large. It could very well be someone within the palace. And, if it turned out that both Sif and Thor were big fat liars then if she went to them and told them she wanted to help them find her attacker would their deception not then be brought to light fairly quickly?

Well then. It was decided. Tomorrow she would tell Thor she wanted to help.

xxxxxx

When Jane woke the next morning she was startled to see threads of green on the ceiling of her chamber. They almost looked like lasers; similar to a tripwire laser alarm. Frowning, she climbed out of bed and readied herself for the day while hoping her husband-to-be wasn't up to some kind of mischief.

(When wasn't he?)

When she departed her room, she found Thor standing outside her chamber looking utterly confused. "Thor?" she said. "Are you okay?"

He frowned and rubbed his forehead. "This morning I felt like I had to tell you something. Sif, too. I ran into Sif in the hall just now and she also felt as though had to tell me something this morning, but she couldn't remember. And now I can't remember what I had to say to you…"

Jane's brow furrowed. "That's funny because now as you say that I think I had something I had to see you about. Sif too, oddly. And now I can't remember." She looked up and around. "Do you see the green?" she asked and pointed up at the ceiling. They crisscrossed the tall ceiling and seemed to go all the way down the hall. Just how far did they go?

Thor looked up. "Pardon?"

"Green threads…do you see them?"

They looked at each other and Thor wore an expression that said he thought she might be a bit soft. "No, Jane, I don't see green threads," he said. He sighed and then nodded toward the hall. "I suppose whatever it is that I had to tell you will eventually come to me. See you at breakfast?"

Jane nodded. "I'm on my way," she murmured. But she was drawn back to looking at the threads. They appeared to be fading now. She had to ask Loki about this. He'd done something and she wondered at what it could possibly be.

She headed down the hall and when she got to the dining hall, Loki was there to greet her. He smiled warmly at her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her gently. "Good morning, my darling," he said. "Did you sleep well?"

Jane nodded and smiled at him and then frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I was going to ask you something. I've already forgotten what it was."

He shrugged. "Perhaps it was not important then."

"I hate that feeling. When something feels like it's right there right on the tip of your tongue or the tip of your…mind and…" She sighed. "It just won't come."

"Perhaps it will come to you if you don't try to force it."

She nodded and then smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Arm-in-arm they entered the dining hall and when Thor saw them, he said with forced politeness. "Good morning, Jane. Loki."

Jane sat down across from him and Loki sat by her side. "Good morning, Thor," she said.

She arranged her napkin on her lap and wondered if she'd had a dream about Thor the night before. She felt as though she'd just seen him…

 _It's working_ , Loki thought. He felt some part of him relax, though he knew that until he saw Frigga and Odin, he would not be able to completely relax. If they saw nothing and felt no different then he would know that his spell had been a complete success. As powerful as he was, Frigga and Odin had reservoirs of power due to their advanced years. Odin might not carry the same magick as Loki and Frigga, but all Gods carried something.

Frigga and Odin entered and Loki tensed. They sat and breakfast commenced.

Was it possible he was in the clear?

"Loki," Odin said, his voice booming across the hall.

Loki's eyes narrowed, hoping his look of annoyance hid the fact that his heart had started to race. "Yes?"

"See to it that you do not anger our guests tomorrow evening. The last time the rulers of Vanaheim visited, you scared their little girl by making a snake slither down her arm."

Jane snorted and then coughed to cover it up. Loki wanted to smile at her, his darling fiancé, but he refrained. "Very well," he drawled.

Odin grunted, and Loki assumed that was his 'thank you'.

And then breakfast was over.

As soon as Odin and Frigga departed, everyone else was free to leave. Jane and Loki stood at the same time, and before she could go, Loki snagged her into his arms and kissed her soundly. She clung to him, humming happily in the back of her throat. Dazed, she looked up at him. "What was that for?"

He beamed down at her. "I am just incredibly happy, my sweet."

She smiled. "Me too."

 _Now_ , Loki thought, _I can relax_.


End file.
